Gone
by Night Fury Guardian
Summary: SUCKY SUMMARY: Everything Mikasa had ever known and loved was gone after that cold, rainy day. She soon finds herself bought and then freed by notorious thug Levi, and forever grateful, she is there by his side, even when he's forced into the Survey Corps. But soon after meeting, another man tugs at her heart. Written by Ubermarine and me. Rated M for violence and other stuff.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**__ Hello, everyone! Here's a new fanfic written by **Ubermarine** and me! I was thinking about doing this for a while and I ran the idea by him, and boy, did he give some great plot details! So I totes thank him! _

_And believe or not, this is will be an EreMika fanfic. Just...believe..._

_I'll shut up now. :D_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Mikasa's P.O.V.<em>**

It was cold.

That was all my body could really feel as I sat there, numb. My back pressed firmly against the cold stone wall, my wrists tightly bound, raised above my head. The rope had rubbed my skin raw where they had kept my hands together so tightly, though I hadn't made a single attempt to struggle. I couldn't feel anything; I couldn't even remember how or when I'd gotten here. The last thing I could recall seeing before now were my parents.

But it was a memory I wanted to erase from my mind all together.

My mother, falling to the floor, clutching her shoulder as she tried to keep the warm, red fluid inside her body as it spurted from her neck, yelling something at me.

And my father. My father, sitting in a unnatural position, the same red fluid pooling to the floor in front of him, his chin touching his chest as he sat in a lifeless manner.

And the strange men who were standing outside this cage I was chained inside. The same men who had transported me here, though I couldn't remember, the men who had knocked on the door of our house, the men who had killed my parents in front of my eyes...

And in a way, they murdered me, too.

I wanted to cry so badly. More than that I just wanted to sob until I drowned in my own tears. But at the same time, I didn't want to cry because I couldn't reach up to wipe the tears off my face, where the air would dry them and make them sticky. Also, I didn't want these men to get satisfaction off my misery. There was nothing I could do, so what was the point in even crying over it?

"How much do you want for the girl?"

A shudder from my body followed as I heard a man ask that. I could tell that whoever had said this was referring to me, even before looking up and meeting his dark eyes with my own.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Levi's P.O.V.<em>**

I'd been on a regular 'job' alongside my two companions, Isabel and Farlan.

Our usual routine was to move in together until we reached the heart of the underground capital, where we made our deals. Of course, we always had to wear damn cloaks to conceal the 3D maneuver gears we had stolen a long time ago, in order to help us out of a sticky situation.

Which was always a high probability.

I saw all kinds of shit go on down here. Blackmailing, drug trading, bribery, pimps, prostitues, human traffiking...you name it, I'd probably seen it a million times over. All these years of seeing how cruel and monsterous humans could be, we were possibly worse than the titans as a whole. It never phased me though, never made me once take a second glance...

So I had no idea why I'd stopped on account of spotting a small little girl in the cage, shackled up like a prisoner.

"How much do you want for the girl?" The words were out of my mouth before I'd even thought through what I was doing as I turned toward the apparent seller, a chunky man with whiskers and wearing a tight fitting cap on his head. I recognized the man as Peter, someone who owed me a sum of money. And not just a small amount, either.

"Seven gran." he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"That's a lot for a child." I replied.

"Well, what'd you expect!" Peter shouted. "She's Oriental! Probably the last one. We had to kill her parents to snatch her!"

I watched as his eyes drifted to one of his partners. "And if it wasn't for you, we would have the mother! She was a pure-blood! Worth probably triple than this kid!"

"The bitch fought back! You saw it yourself!"

"She came after you with a pair of scissors. I hardly doubt that you were in any _real_ danger, you castrated turkey."

"Let's get back to the matter at hand here." I calmly commanded them. "I'll give you two gran."

"No deal. I already have a man offering seven."

I knew what would get him to lower the offer. Slowly, I took my hood off, revealing my face.

"Ah, Levi!" Peter stammered. "Ah...hello. Well, I didn't think you'd be...interested in a girl this age...I mean, you always seemed to prefer the older-"

"Let's make a deal, Pete." I interrupted, slowly withdrawing a blade from my 3DMG and lifting it to his throat.

"O-of course. Anything, Levi."

"You give me that kid, and I promise not to slit your throat from ear to ear. In fact, I won't do that AND I'll forget about your debt..."

"But Levi, I'll be able to pay it back if I sell her-"

I pressed the blade closer. "Do we have a deal?"

He swallowed deeply before answering. "Okay, deal. Take her." He handed me the keys, and I unlocked the cage.

The little girl didn't seem to pay any attention to me as I walked toward her and undid the chain shackles. Still bound with rope, I didn't feel this was the place to untie her ropes so I merely grabbed one of her arms and pulled her to her feet. She almost seemed like a rag doll, the way her body was so limp and lifeless.

Without a word, I practically dragged her out of the cell she'd been in, handed Peter his keys back, and walked away quickly.

"Alright, brat." I addressed her as soon as we'd left those vermins' sight. Taking my small knife out of my belt loop, I noticed the kid tense and widen her eyes in fright at the sight of it. Before she could make any move, I'd walked behind her and quickly cut the bindings on her arms, tossing the ropes to the side.

Her black eyes looked up at me, shock in them. She gently rubbed at her raw wrists, looking down at them.

"Thank you, sir." she murmured. I merely shrugged my shoulders.

"What's your name, kid?" I asked. It took her a couple of minutes to answer.

"Mikasa." I almost didn't hear her, but she repeated it louder. "Mikasa Ackerman."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mikasa's P.O.V.<strong>_

I stared up at the strange man who had bought me, and then cut my hands free. Did he trust I wasn't going to run away? Was he sure that I wouldn't even dare attempt to flee? What was he planning to do with me?

He looked down at me, his entire expression unreadable.

"My name is Levi." he finally said, even his voice betraying not a single ounce of emotion.

I was silent as I nodded my head at his introduction, studying him. He was taller than me, but it was easy to see that he wasn't very tall, at least compared to the few men I'd seen in my life. His black cloak covered most of his body, but I could tell he was carrying something under it. His black hair was styled in an undercut, and his expression seemed devoid of any emotion.

"How old are you, Mikasa?"

I cautiously answered. "Nine."

"Your parents?"

My head lowered, despair choking and suffocating me once again. "They're dead."

I didn't even recognize my own voice. It was so dull, so lifeless...

Then again, it seemed to fit me very well.

"Do you have any other family?"

"No. I'm...alone." The utter truth of my own words pulled me deeper into the dark abyss of misery.

"Levi!" I heard a feminine voice call out, and followed his eyes as he focused in on its owner. It was a young woman, wearing the same cloak as Levi, her short brown hair put up in two ponytails. Following her was a tall man, his hair short and blonde, also wearing a cloak. It made me a bit curious. What were they hiding under there? But I didn't ask.

"Listen to me, kid." Levi spoke. "I may have bought you from that man, but you are your own person. You are free."

I let his words marinate for a few moments. His two...acquaintences I guess...came to halt beside him, and I could feel their eyes drift to me. Levi said nothing to them, but they soon left us alone, telling Levi where to meet them.

"If I am truly free, sir-" I began.

"Just call me Levi." he interrupted.

"Levi." I continued. "If I am really free...where...should I go...?"

The man who was giving me freedom did not show one flicker of emotion as he responded to my question.

"Mikasa, you will have to choose whatever you will regret this least. That's all I can tell you."

I lifted my head to meet his eyes, now seeing a hint of some emotion. It was pity. This man had taken pity on me, and he'd risked his neck to help me. I could feel relief swarming me. This man wasn't going to hurt me.

_The path I will regret the least?_

His words echoed in my mind, as I thought of all the possible places I could go. But I didn't dwell too long on my options.

Because my decision was already made.

"I want to go with you, Levi."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:** I have no idea if I did a good job on this beginning or not. But I hope I did! __It's basically the same plot as the manga except in this, Levi saves Mikasa. And YES. I know it sounds like a LeviMika, but I'm planning it to be EreMika so...yeah. Don't get me wrong. LeviMika is kawaii. It's just that EreMika is my ship. _

_If you read 'The Birth of Levi' manga, you'll notice his two...friends?...at the beginning with him. I just named them off the top of my head. Just so you know. ^-^_


	2. Chapter 2: The 104th Training Corps

_**A/N:** So here's the next chapter! _

_I'd like to thank a guest reviewer who signed as **Hikari Jeanne** who informed me that Levi's companions were named Farlan and Isabel. I have been unable to read any further in 'The Birth of Levi' manga beyond the first chapter where it doesn't give their names so I thank you tons._

_Well, ENJOY! This is the longest thing I've written for a chapter ^-^_

* * *

><p><strong>Two Years Later...<strong>

The heat of the sun beat down on me as I stood at attention, giving my usual emotionless stare. I looked ahead, listening to the trainee instructor as he verbally abused all his new cadets.

"You there! What's your name!?" Keith Shadis shouted as he came to a halt in front of a scrawny, blonde haired boy.

"Armin Arlert!" the boy answered, saluting the trainee instructor. "I'm from the Shiganshina District, sir!"

Shiganshina. The place where I was born. The place where I lived with my parents until...

_'Same as me.'_ I thought to myself._ 'But that was a long time ago...another life it seems.'_

It _was_ another life. Looking back, it seemed that I had lived in a fairytale. Nothing had ever gone wrong, I never had heard of anything evil happening to anyone before. That is, until the day it all came crashing through the front door of my home. It was strange that today I was remembering this.

I listened as Shadis screamed all sorts of derogatory slurs at a new victim, hearing the panicked and terrified answers he elicited from them. If these people couldn't take that man yelling in their face, what made them think they'd last against titans?

The only reason I was here was to stay beside Levi. I didn't care anything about killing titans.

* * *

><p>It was a couple of months after Levi had saved me when it happened.<p>

I was just making my rounds alongside Levi when all of a sudden, we found ourselves surrounded.

At first, I thought it was the Military Police because of the uniforms. I felt a little angry; someone _had_ to have ratted Levi or Farlan and Isabel out because they knew how to cover their trails. But then I recognized an insignia on the sleeve of the tall, blonde man who appeared to be in charge of the swarm. They weren't the standard Military Police Uniform.

Wings. The Wings of Freedom. The symbol for the Survey Corps.

"Hello." The tall man said, looking at Levi. "I'm Commander Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps."

"I don't care." Levi remarked, a bored expression on his face though I was close enough to feel his tension. "Go to hell."

The Commander of the Survey Corps merely came closer. Levi stood his ground and I followed his example, giving the same uninterested stare that he always did. Smith stopped about a foot in front of us and seemed to study Levi swiftly before he spoke again.

"I'm here to recruit you into the Survey Corps."

I kept my newly mastered poker face in tact, despite the urge to drop my mouth open in shock. _The Survey Corps?!_

"And what the hell makes you thinks that I'd do such a thing?" Levi replied, clearly getting tired of the hold up. He made a swift glance down to me and made eye contact. I knew what to do. Slowly and as inconspicuous as possible, I moved my hands under my cloak to the triggers of my 3D manuever gear as Levi did the same, both of us ready to take flight in an instant. I noticed that Smith looked at me briefly.

"That girl has a 3D manuever gear, too?" he asked. "I'm surprised, she's so young."

"The brat's a strong one. Now...how about you just leave and let us carry on with our business-"

"I'm sure you'll want to meet up with your other companions as well." Erwin said, but the way he said it sent a chill down my spine.

"What did you do, you son of a bitch?" Levi demanded, though he was surprisingly still calm.

"We ran into them on our way here." He seemed to signal someone, and all of a sudden, Farlan and Isabel were in view. Farlan, who knows when he's defeated, was calm as Levi with his captor. Isabel, a born fighter, tried escaping but with no success. Levi's face didn't change much, but I could see the anger inside his black eyes.

"I had a feeling it'd take further persuasion." Smith said. "Mike."

The sandy haired man with a beard was apparently Mike, and at the word, he had a blade of his own out, holding to Farlan and Isabel's throats.

I couldn't help but remember that day, but the only emotion I felt at the moment was rage. I had a new family, maybe not as open and caring as my old one, but it was still a family. And no one was going to take that away from me. Never again.

But I was shocked that it was Levi who charged forward to free our friends, leaving my face in utter shock. I was the one who was rash, the one Levi had to pull out of situations due to emotion.

"Mikasa, if you don't learn to control and discipline yourself, you'll get your damn snotty ass killed." he said one day after getting me out of a fight. Remembering all the times, Levi had stuck his neck out for me, I prepared to go and help him.

Before I could react, Erwin was over him, beating and kicking him hard. I watched in horror and rage as Smith merely continued to beat Levi until blood was trickling down his face. When he stopped, he ordered Levi to tell him his name.

"L-Levi." Levi gasped, trying to steady his breath from the beating he'd just received.

"What do you say then, Levi? Will you enlist?"

Levi was silent for a moment before saying. "Yes, you son of a bitch. I'll join."

"I will, too!" I heard Farlan say.

"So will I!" Isabel agreed. "We'll stand beside you, Levi!"

Erwin then turned his head to look at me, not even flinching at my glare which usually made most people cower. I put more venom and hatred and disgust into that one glare than I ever had in my life, practically trying to will the bastard to die.

"So will I."

* * *

><p>Coming back to the present, I felt a pair of eyes on me, and at first I tried ignoring it. But it annoyed me, the feeling that someone was watching, so without moving my head even the tiniest fraction, I let my eyes roam. They stopped to rest on a boy, who looked around my age, standing in the row facing me.<p>

I could that he was the same height as me, but that was where our similarities ended. His skin was dark, copper from hinted years of sun exposure. Dark, brown locks of hair covered the top of his head, parted down the middle. And his eyes...I'd never seen such brilliant green eyes before in my life.

I abruptly returned my eyes to attention, trying to ignore his eyes on me. Apparently, no one ever informed this damn boy that staring was rude. My face didn't betray a flicker of emotion, not even when Keith Shadis came to stop in front of me.

Just like all the other enlistees, I snapped my feet together and clenched my hands into fists, putting my right one over my heart and the left behind my back. It was the standard military salute, symbolizing a soldier's dedication by offering his heart and life to the king.

Of course, I didn't give a shit about him. The king had nothing to do with why I was here.

Keith Shadis nodded his head at my salute, but didn't utter a word. It didn't honsetly surprise me; most people avoided any conversation with me when this expression was on my face. As soon as he'd finished passing my row, we were ordered to be at ease. He moved on to the next row, the one the green-eyed boy was in. I wasn't truly surprised when he was skipped over like me. There was something about the intensity of his gaze...

I continued to think to myself, paying scarce attention to my surrounding as Shadis screamed at a girl for stealing and eating a potato. Some of these trainees had no clue as to discipline and restraint.

_'The next few months should prove interesting enough.'_

* * *

><p>"Mind if we join you?"<p>

I looked up from my meal to see Armin and the green-eyed boy from earlier. They were both holding their trays, Armin smiling in a friendly manner and the other boy, who seemed to wear a permanent scowl on his face, just stood beside his companion. Looking at me.

It bothered me when someone I didn't know watched me. I was around ten when I finally noticed how much I despised it, but I couldn't really fathom why I hated it. Maybe it was because I realized that the demon men who had killed my parents and kidnapped me had to have watched us for a while before committing their horrid crime. It made me paranoid, especially around men.

When I merely turned my attention back to my supper, the boys seemed to take it as a 'go ahead'. But I didn't really care; I was here to finish training, not make friends.

"My name is Armin." the blonde haired boy said. I merely nodded in acknowledgement, resisting the urge to say, 'I already know. Shadis made you scream it to the world today, remember?'. As annoyed as I was that I'd be stuck here for who knows how long, away from my family, I knew that he had nothing to do with it.

"Didn't catch your name." a new voice asked. It took me a moment to realize it was coming from the other boy. And another to feel his eyes on me. Again.

"That's because I didn't offer it." I answered sharply, and from the look on their faces, they seemed surprised that I had even spoken. I took a sip of my water before continuing. "And I hope you know it's rude to ask for someone's name before introducing yourself. And stare at them."

I looked up to meet his eyes, seeming to smile at my response.

"I guess you're right." he replied. "My name's Eren Jaeger."

When I didn't even acknowledge him, he seemed to get frustrated.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

"Not if you're going to be rude about it."

He ran his hands through his dark hair, giving an annoyed huff. It was amusing, seeing him get as annoyed as he made me feel. I decided to give him a partial answer.

"Just call me Ackerman."

"Well, what's your first name?"

"You wanted a name, I gave you a name."

Armin quickly jumped back into the conversation before Eren could make a remark.

"So what're you enlisting for, Ackerman?"

I thought about my response for a moment. "I'm hoping to finish my 3D manuever gear training. Then I'm joining the Survey Corps."

Eren turned his eyes back on me, grinning this time.

"That's excellent! So you want to kill a lot of titans, too!" he stated in excitement.

I was a little surprised at his sudden enthusiasm, but I didn't let it show.

"No. My family...recently joined. So I decided to follow them."

"Ah, that's cool." Armin chirped. "Where are you from?"

I hesitated, not wanting to confide to these strangers about my past. The only ones who knew were Levi, Farlan, and Isabel. And I wanted to keep it that way.

"I lived in Wall Sina." I answered as truthfully as possible.

"Oh wow...You must have come from a prominent family then."

"I wouldn't say that..." I trailed off. I didn't think living as a thug was _'prominent'_, but let him think whatever. He stood up, picking up his tray before smiling down at us.

"Well, I better get some sleep." Armin said cheerfully. "Tomorrow's gonna be tough."

_'You haven't seen tough until you live with Levi.' _I thought to myself.

"See you two later."

"Good night, Armin." Eren said.

"Good night." I repeated as Armin walked away from us. Eren's eyes immediately trailed back to me, erupting my annoyance yet again. "What?"

"So where are you really from, Ackerman?" Eren asked. "Don't worry, I won't go spread anything about it."

"Why the hell do you want to know? It's none of your damn business." I replied, putting as much ice in my voice as possible, but he just continued on, seeming oblivious.

"I'm just curious, that's all."

I sighed, really wishing that this guy would just leave me alone. "I was born in the Shiganshina District. Same as Arlert. But that was a long time ago."

"I am, too. Armin and I were there the day that Wall Maria fell."

Something changed in his voice, catching my attention. His eyes were looking down at his tray, flaming with such emotion, so much hatred. He violently stabbed his piece of bread before shoving it into his mouth before slowly giving a vengeful smile.

"But that's alright. Once I'm done with this training, I plan to go out and join the Survey Corps. Humanity stands a chance against them so long as we keep fighting!"

My eyes widened just a fraction at his words; this boy was sincere about his dreams, I could see it in his eyes. Never had I even imagined that someone could possess such a determination or hopeful outlook on life. I was a little impressed to be honest, but as I weighed in the subborness he'd exhibited so far, it was obvious he wasn't going to make it.

"Well, I better get to bed." he said. "You should, too. Training."

"Yeah."

"Good night." he said, to which I did not reply. I paused a few mintues before getting up and dumping my tray, heading for the door.

"Umm...I've never...seen...a face like yours around...here before."

I knew he was talking to me so I turned around. I recognized him as Jean Kirchstein, that boy who wanted to join the Military Police to 'live it up'. An impossible task with Levi and friends on the street causing chaos. I knew from experiece, especially since after I joined them, I'd made damn sure the Police had work to do, something that also irritated Levi to no end.

"Your long, b-black hair...it's really p-pretty." Jean continued.

Why was he stuttering so damn bad? And his face was so red, I could've sworn he was a tomato. I waited patiently for him to speak.

I'd always thought of my hair as dull, as it never seemed to have any color to it. But I decided not to express my personal opinions, wanting to just hurry up and get some rest.

"Thanks." I commented before turning around to walk to the girls' barracks.

* * *

><p>The next few months passed faster than I had expected.<p>

The 3D Maneuver gear training was easy enough, as I had two years experience on everyone else. The only problem with it was that I always had to be extra careful that my long hair didn't get caught in the cables.

"Maybe you should cut your hair, Ackerman." Eren suggested one night in the mess hall. Funny how that one night led them to make it a habit to sit with me.

"What?" I asked, having not really paid him any attention until I heard my name.

"Your hair. I think you should cut it so it won't get in the way." Without warning, his hand reached and picked up one of the long strands and I tensed. It wasn't long before I instinctively and unemotionally slapped his hand hard. He gave a small hiss, but I didn't feel bad. People in the underground had learned quickly enough not to touch me.

"I'm just saying. You didn't have to go and fuckin hit me." Eren complained.

"You're a man, right? Get over it." I mocked, and was rewarded with his famous scowl.

About a couple of nights after that, I ended up cutting it. It had finally gotten too long to handle and it'd be a liability in battle. I just found a pair of scissors and carefully cut it to wear the ends were at my chin and jawline.

It made me self-conscious and paranoid when everyone seemed to notice and then asked me why I had cut it. It wasn't any of their business, but I kept a poker face as I merely said that it'd be a liability and had to go. No one asked anymore questions when I'd said that.

Ironically enough, Eren Jaeger, who thought he was such a bad ass, couldn't even keeep himself in an upright position when he was still. He'd fallen face first into the dirt probably a hundred times. The fact that he couldn't do the simplest 3D manuever gear task was grounds for them to drop him, and Eren was desperate to stay in. I knew he asked a couple of the boys in his barracks for some help as well as I could tell that they had been total dicks to him, making fun of him because he had failed.

I may have thought of him as a pain in my ass, but I wouldn't have rubbed his failure in his face. In fact, I admired at how he pressed on, refusing to let this set back stop him. I even agreed to help him practice the night before the test when he came to me as I headed off for the girls' barracks.

"Ackerman, please. You're the only one left that I haven't asked." he practically begged, startling me and for once, my surprise showed on my face.

"Well...alright." I reluctantly agreed, and he immediately seemed joyful.

That night was rough. He stayed up all night trying to find the right technique that worked for him, cutting his face all up as he repeatedly fell to the ground. But before we left for our barracks early the next morning, we thought he'd found it. Later on, when the final test arrived, Eren was able to hold himself up for about ten seconds before he suddenly fell face first into the dirt again.

His face showed absolute despair when Shadis told him to remove his belt. I couldn't help but feel bad myself for Eren; he'd tried so hard, with so much diligence. It'd be a shame to see such a dedicated person leave.

But it turned out that Eren's belt was faulty. Shadis had Thomas and Eren trade belts, and Eren was able to keep himself upright. Shadis seemed impressed and everyone else was amazed at Eren's accomplishment. I didn't betray anything, but I felt really glad for him.

In addition to completing 3D manuver gear training and conditioning, we had to learn hand-to-hand combat. It seemed silly, considering titans at their smallest were twice our size. But I didn't mind learning new ways to defend myself against humans. From personal experience, they could be worse monsters than titans.

"Hey, Ackerman." I turned around to see Eren approach me as we made our way to the training grounds one day. "Wanna spar?"

"Why not?" I replied, though he really didn't know what he was getting into. I had learned most of this stuff from Levi after he'd found me.

When we found our own little space, he raised his hands up in a fighting stance while I stood there, my arms at my sides.

"Ackerman, get ready." he ordered me.

"I am ready." I replied, a tiny smirk emerging on my face. "Ready when you are."

As soon as those words were out of my mouth, he charged toward me, fists raised. I quickly moved out of the way, spinning around to face him as he turned to lunge. I dodged each of his punches, one by one, before I finally swung a leg and swept him off his feet, my arm hitting his chest to guarantee him to fall, and pinned him on the ground. His eyes were wide as they looked up at me.

"Holy shit." Eren breathed. "How did you do that?"

"It takes more energy to swing and miss," I informed him as I unpinned him and extended a hand to help him up. "...than it does to swing and hit the target."

"Huh." he mumbled as he took my hand. "Well, you're fast. You'd probably never lose. No one would be able to catch you."

"My...mentor is swifter than me."

"That's hard to believe. Hell, you'll end up graduating in half the time."

I didn't say anything at the time, but I knew that he was exactly right. I wouldn't be here much longer.

* * *

><p>It was the night before I was to go enlist in a branch, and I wasn't having a good night's sleep. Of course, no one knew that.<p>

I had a strange way of waking up from a night mare; instead of tossing and turning and screaming like other people, I merely sat up and opened my eyes. Not groggly either. More like when you just close your eyes to create visuals say, and a loud object makes your eyes fly open.

I could tell that the further into the night it got, the less likely I was to actually sleep. So I decided to go exercise to take my mind off of everything. I went through all of the training exercises we had twice and ran three times the normal number of laps before I finally collapsed under a nearby tree, exhausted.

But even in that state, I couldn't sleep. So I merely pressed my back against the trunk of the tree to look at the stars.

"What are you doing out here?"

Eren's voice startled me, as I didn't expect anyone to be out here this time of night. I looked to my left to see his form towering above me, wonderig what he thought about the sight of me curled up under a tree in the middle of the night.

"I couldn't sleep." I explained. "So I came out here to train. I didn't feel like going back to the barracks so I decided to sleep out here."

"Aren't you cold?" he asked me, as he lowered himself to sit next to me. "I mean, you don't even have anything to keep your face warm."

"I'm fine. What're you doing out here?"

"Oh, well...I just had to get away from Jean. He talks so loud in his fuckin sleep, it's unreal."

"Mina is the same way." I volunteered. "I understand." A sudden breeze came through and I shivered slightly. Of course, it didn't escape his notice.

"Here." he said, and before I turned around to protest, I felt fabric being wrapped around me. When he was finished, I looked down to see the frayed ends of the scarf he always wore, dangling around my neck.

"What's this?" I asked absentminded. I knew what it was, it was just the gesture that surprised me.

"It's a scarf, idiot." Eren mumbled. "My mom...knitted it for me a long time ago. But...I want you to have it."

"Why?"

"You're cold, aren't you?"

I absorbed his words and answered his rhetoric question in my thoughts. Yes. I was very cold. Ever since seeing my parents on the floor, still and cold and never to rise again, I became as cold as stone. No. I became as cold as a corpse. Nothing, not even having a family with Levi, Farlan, and Isabel had been able to take away the constant chill.

I reached up to gently stroke the scarf he'd given me, the red material soft and warm.

"Thank you." I murmured.

"You're welcome. I'm surprised you didn't hit me."

On cue, I punched his forearm, hard.

"OW!" he complained. "What was that for?"

"For making assumptions."

He laughed it off, and we sat under that tree for a few more hours, gazing into the night sky before departing to our barracks.

* * *

><p>I found myself standing at attention again the next night. Except I was alone. But at the same time, I wasn't.<p>

Because in front of me were Erwin Smith, Dot Pixis, and Nile Dok, the commanders of the Survey Corps, Garrison, and Military Police respectively.

And Levi. Levi was there. Farlan and Isabel, nowhere in sight so I assumed that they were busy. But Levi was standing behind Erwin Smith. Though it had been a year and half, I could tell that though his face was expressionless, Levi was completely comfortable near Erwin Smith.

Didn't mean I couldn't fantasize on killiing the son of bitch for what he did to Levi.

I was there to choose where I wanted to enlist. The Military Police, where I could go back to Wall Sina except not a a thug, but as a notable memeber of society. The Garrison, where I could help maintain and defend the wall against an attack. Or the Survey Corps, where I would go out into titan territory and fight for humanity. With small chance of survival.

It didn't matter. No amount of persuasion could change my mind. Levi knew that, too. That's why he shouldn't have been surprised when I saluted my superiors and gave my answer.

"I, Mikasa Ackerman of the 104th Training Corps, choose to enlist in the Survey Corps in order to help aid in humanity's resurrection."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **Whoa, it is long! But I hope you're enjoying this. :D_

__As for the details of Erwin capturing Levi in this...well, because I haven't read it, so I'm just kind of inventing it. I mean, I know that Levi is forced to join when Erwin has a sword to his friends. Just not the exact details of what's said and such. Just FYI__


	3. Chapter 3: Battle of Trost

**_A/N:_**_ Here is chapter 3! Oh my! This mainly takes place in Eren's P.O.V. and takes place during the Battle of Trost. I know it may seem quick, but...to be honest, Armin's P.O.V. was what was worrying me. This is mainly just a quick retelling of the Trost, just altered since Mikasa is on an expedition with the Survey Corps. _

_Thank you to all the reviews and story followers and favorites!_

_Now enjoy! :P_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Eren's P.O.V.<em>**

**_Location: Trost_**

**_Year: 850_**

More than angry. I was_ furious_.

We had all trained so hard! The past three years had been hard, torturous almost as we worked until we thought our body's would fall apart from the strain. We'd become friends, closely knit together as we each forged our own path into the future.

That's why when the Colossal Titan broken through the Trost district's wall, we had all set out to do our job; defending the people as they made their evacuations.

All I could see was red after that abnormal titan had suddenly flown at us. Because when we had all fallen back and looked at the motherfucker...

It had Thomas in its mouth.

Thomas was gasping for air, the pressure of the aberrant's teeth crushing his abdomen. Blood trickled down from his mid-section, his eyes showing pure horror as the titan tilted its head back and swallowed him whole.

I flew toward the titan, not hearing the shouts of my friends as I went forward to avenge my squad member. My blades were prepared to slice open its neck when out of nowhere, I felt something snap underneath me.

I yelled in agony as pain shot through my legs until suddenly I couldn't feel my legs at all. Falling to the ground, I cursed as I felt my pants become warm. At first, I didn't know what had happened. The pain took over all my senses. I watched in horror as one by one, my other squad members fell prey to the titans. Mina...Nac...Mylius...

I tried to get up, to try and save them, but I could barely move my body. My hand went to the ground and touched something warm and wet. I looked to the ground to see blood, quickly pooling. Like it was coming from nearby...

That was when I realized that the blood was coming from _me_. I looked down at my legs only to see that they weren't there anymore.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

I felt as if my whole life had prepared me for this very moment, the day that I would face the titans one on one. And take my revenge.

A single memory arises in my mind as I lay in a pool of warm, spilling blood..._my_ blood.

My mother hanging clothes out to dry, me poking my head out from under a sheet as I made a funny face, my joy at seeing my mom's face smiling and giggling at my silliness...

Just little things that I had taken for granted. And now I would never see or have them again.

Sadness filled me. And then guilt.

For yelling at my mother, arguing with her, even to the very end, for always worrying her...

I reached up to my neck, to stroke the red scarf that she had made for me when I was little. When I felt my bare neck, I remembered that I had given it to Ackerman.

For some unknown reason, thinking about Ackerman reminded me of someone...

Mikasa.

The name had always stuck in the back of my mind, and I never even got the chance to meet her. When my dad and I had arrived at her house that rainy day, all we found was the dead bodies of her parents.

And when I tracked down the cabin that they'd stopped at, the disgusting creatures who called themselves humans had already gone. With her.

One last emotion, rage, suddenly filled me, making me stronger it felt. I recalled every monsterous thing I had ever seen. The dead bodies of that little girl's parents, my mother's blood raining down on me as Hannes carried me away from her...

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"

Then everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Armin's P.O.V.<em>**

I was alone.

Eren. Everyone else from our squad. They were all dead.

There was no reason for me to linger here; it would be a suicidal mission. Mina's body had been decapitated. The one who ate Thomas had run off. Nac Tias, Mylius Zeramuski, their bodies brutally mutilated as titans devoured them. Eren had his legs bitten off and was surely dead from the blood loss by now.

I was about to leave the area, in an attempt to escape, when all of a sudden I heard a scream.

"E-Eren?" I gasped, recognizing that voice. How was he still alive?! After having his legs bitten off and falling like that, he would've already bled out by now. My eyes flickered around frantically, looking for any sign of Eren. I finally found him. On the ground, the red liquid pooling out from where his legs had been around him.

My eyes widened as steam surrounded him. Steam that I only noticed when a titan was decaying rapidly. After a few minutes, the smoke cleared and my eyes widened in shock as I looked at the spot where Eren had just been to realize he was gone.

With a fifteen meter class titan in his place.

"Wh...what?" I whispered in disbelief. That titan had appeared out of nowhere. I looked toward the ground, in search of Eren's body. Surely, he would've been crushed...

I couldn't find his body anywhere. Not even a hint that it had even been there. There wasn't any evidence to suggest he had been stepped on or that this strange titan had eaten him. It was only when another normal titan came near.

Then I realized.

The strange titan that had mysteriously appeared suddenly moved his hands up as if...he was performing hand-to-hand combat.

Eren was the titan. As impossible as it sounded, as incredulous as it seemed to think...

I knew my best friend was that titan.

I watched in shock as the normal titan charged Eren. With one swift motion, Eren swung his left arm hard, landing a hit on his opponent. The force behind his swing was so hard that it knocked the other fifteen meter class's head clean off. The decapitated head soared through the air until it landed in a nearby tower.

My eyes drifted back to the headless body, as it struggled to raise itself up. Eren's titan quickly stomped on it, hitting the nape of its neck, effectively finishing it off. It was obvious now that Eren was behind the controls; titans had never showed any knowledge of their weak points, not even an interest to fight unless it was over food...

"Armin!"

I turned around just in time to see Connie Springer, one of my friends from training, flying toward me on his 3D maneuver gear. He landed on the roof top, running toward me.

"Armin, are you okay, man?!" he exclaimed as he took in my shocked look. His eyes turned toward the carnage, taking in every last body from the slaughter that had happened here only moments ago.

"Oh my God...your entire squad..."

"Where'd you come from?"

"I just escaped a titan." he said. "And what's worse...I'm going to run out of gas soon."

"What's wrong with the resupply headquarters?"

"It's overrun with titans." His head turned sharply in the direction of the titan that was Eren, its form walking past us.

"Oh shit! This is bad!" he moaned. "A fifteen meter class!" He began to draw his blades, throwing me a glance.

"Get the hell out of here, Arlert!"

"No, wait! That titan doesn't care about us! It's Eren!"

Connie's eyes widened as he turned back toward me, shock covering his face. "WHAT?"

"It's true." I followed. "I...don't know how...But I know that that aberrant is Eren! I saw it!"

Connie slowly placed his blades back in his 3D manuever gear. "Armin...are you...are you..serious? Are you sure you didn't hit your head or-"

"I'm positive." I answered.

"Unbelievable..."

Suddenly, an idea came to me. A crazy idea. Something that could get us killed...

But it was better than remaining here with what little gas we had.

"Connie..." I said. "I have an idea."

"An idea...?"

"I know it's crazy, but..." I pointed toward Eren's titan, seeming to look for more titans to kill. "Let's lead Eren to the headquarters."

"What?!"

"You saw what he did to that one titan! He could do that to us!"

"He could've killed us already." I countered. "He's had more than opportunity. Obviously, the titan hasn't taken over Eren's mind. He still wants to kill them. And if he wants to kill them all...I say we let him."

Connie turned to me, looking at me incredulously. "I swear, Armin...I'm seriously questioning your sanity."

* * *

><p>Eren's titan did what we'd hoped. It literally wiped out every single titan in our path while we ran along side him. Occasionally, we'd have to dodge but that was really more because of the titan limbs flying everywhere.<p>

As soon as we were close enough, Connie and I flew to the head quarters via the 3D maneuver gear, crashing through a window. I noticed that the swarm of titans surrounding the building left and turned to attack our titan ally instead.

"Armin?! Connie?!" I heard the voice of Jean Kirchstein gasp in disbelief.

Connie suddenly started slapping me on my back hard. "OH WOW! WE BARELY MADE IT! NICE PLAN, ARMIN!"

"OW OW OW!"

Connie quickly stopped, turning his attention to our fellow soldiers in the room. He gestured toward Eren before he began speaking.

"Everyone! That titan right there is Eren! He helped us get here!"

All of them looked at Connie like he was insane, before Jean finally snorted, "Yeah, right."

"It's true! Armin, tell him!"

"Connie is right." I concurred. "I saw it with my own two eyes."

The immediate response was disbelief. No one said a word while they watched the abnormal titan fight the others that were hording around him. Finally, I interrupted their thoughts.

"We need to refuel on gas! Let's go!"

"Armin" I heard Marco's voice. "We can't. There are titans down in the gas room."

"How many?" Connie asked.

"Seven. They are all the smaller ones. But still..."

"Alright." I muttered, trying to come up with a plan. "Do we have any type of weapons?"

"All we have are these rifles I found in the MP's storage room." Jean replied. "But would good are these going to -"

The plan just seemed to formulate in my head. I knew that no matter what, it would be risky and if one person slipped up, it could mean the end of all of us.

But still, it gave us a chance.

"Here's my idea." I quickly said, feeling self-conscious as everyone seemed to turn their attention to me.

"First, we will need several people, each armed with a rifle, to be lowered down on the 'll wait until the titans lure in close enough...and let's hope none are deviants...then we'll fire our rifles aiming for their eyes. This will temporarily blind them. And the following moments will be decisive..."

"Seven people will have to remain ambushed on the roofs,they will jump in and cut into the titans' vitals during the gunfire...which is to say...This strategy relies on us giving it our all in this one offensive. Everybody's lives will be hanging in the balance."

"This plan will require seven people to kill one titan each simultaneously..."

I looked around me to see their reactions. My plan seemed absolutely suicidal, now that I'd spoken it out loud. "The ones who will have to do it are those with the highest succes rate when it comes to mobility..." I paused before adding, "I apologize for dumping everyone's survival on your shoulders..."

"No problem." Reiner replied, smirking.

"Whoever does it," Annie commented. "the risk is the same in case of a failure: we all die."

"But..." I stressed. "Is my plan really the best option? I mean...it's just me..."

"There's no more time." Marco interrupted. "We'll have to just give this plan all we have!"

We all knew who would be the ones to shoulder that task: Reiner Braun, Bertholdt Fuber, Annie Leonhardt, Ymir, Sasha Braus, Connie Springer, and Jean Kirchstein.

Fortunately, the plan worked without any casualties. We thought we were in trouble when Sasha and Connie failed to kill their targets, but Annie and Ymir quickly jumped in to save them.

"OHHHH THANK YOU, YMIR! THANK YOU!" Sasha wailed as she clutched to the other girl.

"Get off of me!" Ymir complained.

"Sorry about that." Connie said to Annie.

"Don't mention it."

"Annie!" Reiner called, Bertholdt following behind him. "That was a close call. I'm glad you weren't hurt."

"Alright, everyone!" Jean exclaimed. "Now we can resupply!"

We quickly restocked our gas supplies, preparing to take off on our 3D maneuver gears. I quickly went up to a nearby rooftop to look for the titan that was Eren.

"Oh no..." I murmured when I found him.

His titan was pressed against the side of another building, a mob of titans surrounding him.

"Armin!" Bertholdt shouted. "Come on! Let's go!"

"But Eren! They...they're eating him!"

The ones who had gathered with me on the rooftop looked in Eren's direction. We all watched as the smaller titans bit into him, eating the flesh that they pulled away. Both his arms were gone and his ribs on his right side were exposed.

And he wasn't regenerating like the rest of the titans.

"Holy shit..." Connie mumbled.

"We need to go help him!" I called.

Another titan came from around the corner. One that I had seen before, not so long ago...

"That's the abnormal that ate Thomas!"

Almost as soon as I had said that, the titan under Eren's control suddenly went berserk. It thrashed against the horde, ignoring every one of them. He ran toward the aberrant. As he reached the titan, his teeth enclosed its neck, right on its weak point.

He swung the titan around, knocking all the other ones away from him.

"What was that about helping Eren again?"

Once again, steam filled the air, clouding most of our view of Eren. It wasn't until after our visibility had returned that Eren's body emerged from the decaying titan.

I immediately flew down from the rooftop to him. As soon as his head had detached from the tissue, I proceeded to pull the rest of Eren out. He was hot and feverish. As hot as titan skin, he was burning up. I looked down at his lower half, wondering how badly the heat had affected his wounds.

And I saw his legs had grown back, with no evidence that they had ever been bitten off.

"What...happened to you?" I asked as I pulled his unconscious form from the sticky flesh.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:** I know it's short, but I hope you enjoyed. ^-^_

_I promise Mikasa will be back in the next chapter! I'm more comfortable in her and Eren's P.O.V. though I'm sure it can get a little OOC. Armin P.O.V. was what was bothering me, but since Eren can't remember what happened and Mikasa is not here...well...I figured that someone needed to tell what happened._

_And I just wanted to inform you that the top ten is different in this (obviously)._

_Order of Rank from 1 to 10 FYI: Reiner Braun, Berthodlt Fubar, Annie Leonhardt, Eren Yeager, Ymir, Jean Kirchstein, Marco Bodt, Connie Springer, Sasha Braus, and Krista Renz. (I may have Sasha and Connie mixed up...if I do, they have their original ranks.)_

_Just to let you know...See you next time!_


	4. Chapter 4: Reunion

**_A/N:_**_ Here's chapter four! Extra LONG chapter! And guess what? EreMika WEEK! Starts today **Feb. 4th** and ends **Feb. 10th. **My dumbass almost forgot...I guess I gotta get to work on my art, huh? If I'm lucky I may can get a smut chapter done each day for it...depends. But for sure, I need to get my art done._

_If anyone is interested in my art, I'll post it on my DeviantArt and Pixiv which I haven't used in like months and definitely on my Tumblr, all links on my profile page._

_I can't believe I almost forgot!_

_But anyway enjoy the story! ^-^_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mikasa's P.O.V.<strong>_

_**Location: Outside the Walls**_

_**Year: 850**_

"Keep a look out for anything." Squad Leader Hanji said to Levi and the rest of our squad as she suddenly stopped and dismounted our horses. We all followed suit, keeping our eyes out, mainly for any type of human remains from soldiers killed during the last expedition.

Life in the Survey Corps had its...up and downs, you could say.

Levi had already become the leader of the Special Operations squad when I joined up, and I was assigned to his squad without a problem. To my surprise, Farlan and Isabel weren't in it, but as I later found out they died while I was in training. I never asked for the details, not wanting to know what their last minutes were like. Also because even though he never showed it, I could tell Levi was upset over it and I didn't want to make it worse.

Levi was the only family I had left now. If it meant risking my life, I'd protect him because I never wanted to go through watching my family die in front of me again.

Aside from myself, the Special Ops squad consisted of Eld Jinn, Gunther Schultz, Petra Ral, and Oluo Bozado.

Eld was second-in-command of the squad, usually quiet. However, when he did speak, he was blunt and straightforward. From what I could tell, he was very responsible and firm leader, and he also possessed a strong sense of duty.

Gunther was the type of person to not trust someone upon meeting. He needed time to warm up to you, which probably developed as a result of all his titan encounters. He could also be a bit stern when someone didn't focus on the task at hand. This also tended to put him and Oluo at odds.

Out of all my new squad members, I liked Petra the most I'd say. She was kind, gentle, and caring. Yet you'd never guess that a woman like that was second only to Levi in total titan kills. She and I got along fairly well, and when I was training with Levi, I preferred training with her. We both had similar opinions of our Heichou, and like me, she was easily irritated by Oluo.

Oluo...well, he was very self-confident and outspoken, but what annoyed me was how often he would boast about himself. He was also rather clumsy, frequently biting on his own tongue while talking. But in my opinion, he didn't bite down on it enough, and I wasn't the only one who found him obnoxious. Also, apparently Levi saved him at some time during my training so Oluo wanted to be more like him, copying Levi's attitude and rough speech. Well, I guess he took the saying _"Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery"_ to heart.

These people became like a new family in the months that followed. I bonded with each one in my own way, but I never allowed myself to get too close. We had a dangerous job, more than likely we would die doing it one day. It was better not to get too attached when the odds of survival were little.

It had now been a year and a half since my graduation and induction into the Survey Corps. But I never stopped thinking about _him._

Eren Yeager.

How was he? Did he graduate? Was he joining the Survey Corps still? Or had he changed his mind?

I would play with the tips of the red scarf he had given me that cold night. Levi noticed it the night I first went with him to meet my new squad.

"I didn't even know you owned a scarf." Levi asked.

"Well, I do now." I replied.

"What, did you knit it yourself? I'm surprised you're suddenly taking an interest in girly things."

I was a little annoyed at his comment. "A fellow trainee gave it to me as thanks for helping him learn the 3D maneuver gear. That's all."

And that was more than likely the truth. Eren had merely wanted to thank me, and he had by giving me something that was precious to him. A scarf that his mother had made him.

But there was something else about him...that bothered me to no end.

_Yeager._..I knew I had heard the name before but I couldn't remember _where._

I stood beside my horse quietly, looking around for any type of remains while musing over the name Yeager.

As I thought about it over and over, a strange sensation washed over me. I had a terrible feeling that something awful had happened to him, and my hands flew to his scarf without any real permission.

_'What's going on-?'_

"Mikasa..." Levi called to me, interrupting me from my thoughts. "Come here."

I quickly walked over to him. "What?"

He bent over into the tall grass, picking something small and black in his hand.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It looks like a small journal." Levi answered as he opened it up.

"Hey." I heard Hanji say to herself from behind me. The tone of her voice caught my attention, and I left my horse beside Levi's. When I walked over to her, she was holding an armband from a Survey Corps soldier.

"This armband is from the 34th expedition." she mused out loud, reading the writing on it.

"Then that soldier died a year ago..." I concluded, remembering that expedition.

"Named...Isle Langnar..."

Well, it was a good thing that we had a name for her. That meant we could go to the family and give them some closure.

"We better just collect her jacket for now..." Hanji suggested. "It'd be to dangerous to stick around here any longer."

Levi made no signs to approach his horse, which Hanji and I quickly noticed.

"Levi?" I called.

"What is that?" Hanji asked, her eyes glancing at the little book in his hands.

"This..." he answered, turning around to face us, but never taking his eyes away from the book. "...is what Isle Langnar died for."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Eren's P.O.V.<strong>_

_**Location: Trost**_

"I'll kill you all." I said, a vengeful grin stretching out on my face. Everything had suddenly become blurry, but I didn't care. Just a second ago, I had been killing titans, ripping them into pieces, punches their heads off. It was almost like I'd been a titan myself...

"E-Eren?"

Armin stood beside me, his face somewhat horrified as he called to me. My smile slowly vanished as I saw we weren't alone.

"Huh?!" I gasped as I took in all the soldiers surrounding us, fear and hatred all directed at me.

"Did you hear him?!" one of them exclaimed. "He intends to kill and eat us!"

"Wait..." I murmured. Why were they all pointing their swords at the two of us? And looking at me like that?

A realization spread through out my body.

_'No way...what I just saw...'_

I immediately looked down at my left arm.

_'That...that was a dream, right? My arm's still...attached...' _

I noticed that the sleeve of my shirt was cut off. Right where I had thought my arm had been bitten off. 'What the-?!'

"TRAINEE EREN!" a man yelled out at me, the leader of the bunch from what I could tell. "I SEE YOU HAVE COME TO YOUR SENSES! TRY ANYTHING FUNNY AND WE WON'T HESITATE TO BLOW THAT CANNON ON THE TWO OF YOU!"

I followed his finger to see one of the wall cannons. Pointed directly on us.

"Now...I'll get straight to the point. What are you really? Human? Or titan?"

What kind of question was that?! They were looking at me...as if I was some sort of freak of nature. Is that what he was getting at?

"I fail to understand the question, sir." I answered truthfully.

"DON'T PLAY FUCKING GAMES WITH ME! YOU _FREAK_!" he shouted at me, seeming frightened and pissed at the same time. "WE HAVE WITNESSES WHO SAW YOU EMERGE FROM THAT TITAN! LOTS OF THEM! HUMANITY IS ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION! DO YOU THINK I CARE ABOUT YOUR RANK?! AS LONG AS THE THREAT EXISTS, I'M RIGHT TO ELIMINATE IT!"

I had to answer this carefully. Apparently, I was the only one who didn't believe that I was a titan. But that didn't make me one. I was just like them after all...

"I AM HUMAN!"

Everyone was absolutely silent in the seconds following my answer. The man who had been questioning me merely looked at us.

"I see..." he commented as he raised his arm up, signalling the cannon to shoot. "Don't resent me for this..."

"Dammit!" I hissed. "ARMIN, GO NOW!"

"PLEASE!" Armin tried to persuade him to call off the cannon. "We'll tell you everything we know!"

At this rate, Armin and I both were going to die...

Memories flooded back to me. Ones I didn't even know I had. My father holding the key to our basement. The syringe he held in his hand as he grabbed my arm and injected a strange serum into me, him teling me that I'd understand everything once I got to the basement...

I quickly rose to my feet, grabbing Armin's arm and pulled hm toward me as I bit down hard on my thumb. I had no idea why, but my gut instincts told me to do it.

The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by steam. And something hot and sticky enclosed my arms. As the nearby smoke broke away, I looked down in shock to see my hands in a titan's flesh.

"HUH!?"

I quickly pulled my hands out of the sticky mess. Below me, I could hear Armin's startled breathing as he looked around himself.

"Armin?" I called as I quickly climbed down. I met his wide eyes, absolutlely terrified.

"Eren? How did you-"

"No idea...But it won't last long. It's titan flesh so it will dissolve in a matter of seconds. So what we do next is up to you..."

Armin was the one person in the world I would trust my life to. He always found a way to get us out of a messy situation. Sure, this theory had only been tested on ways to avoid bullies back home, but if he could do that, he could do anything he put his mind to.

"Huh?"

"I can either climb out of here before the smoke clears and leave you since you'll more than likely be pardoned. Or...you can persuade them that I'm not a titan. They won't believe me, especially since that stunt I just pulled..."

"What?!_** Me?**_!" he exclaimed. "B-but-"

"Armin. Have some self-confidence." I interrupted. "You've saved us out of so many situations before. In fact, if it hadn't been you to run and get Hannes...I'd be dead right now."

It was true. I'd been so stubborn, arguing with my mom while she was trapped under what had been our home. She'd begged me to run, but I wouldn't listen. I just kept trying to lift the heavy rubble off of her body. If Armin hadn't alerted Hannes, then Hannes would've never have saved me...

Armin's face changed from fear stricken to determined in the minutes after I reminded him of that day five years ago. I'm sure he was reminded of his own parents, of how they died pointlessly just so there would be less people to feed. That day in the field he had stopped and spoke his mind about the Military Police to me, scoffing at them.

My childhood friend quickly rose to his feet, and he turned to look at me one last time as he prepared to go out.

"I'll...go try to convince them! Or I'll die trying!"

"Armin..."

He darted away from me, and I was worried he might be fired upon immediately. Thankfully though, he wasn't.

"He isn't humanity's enemy, sir!" Armin yelled at the leader. "We're willing to yield all the information we've garnered regarding the titans!"

"I won't hear of it!" the man exclaimed back. "You've shown your true colors, and you're still pleading for your life?! That's RICH! If you're trying to tell me that Trainee Eren isn't a titan, then show me the PROOF!"

"There's no need for proof, sir! It was never about what we should acknowledge him in the first place!"

"Ex-EXCUSE ME?!"

"All the ones who saw him emerge from the titan...then surely they saw him fighting against the titans! And they must've seen how the other titans swarmed around him! Those titans regard him the way they regard us...AS FOOD! No matter how you slice it, the truth is UNDENIABLE!"

Angry faces began to evaporate into confused ones. Armin's seed of doubt took root in their minds as they really processed what had happened.

"He's got a point..."

"That dude might actually be on our side..."

"ENOUGH!" yelled the leader. "GET IN ATTACK POSITION NOW!"

Armin's panicked face turned around to glance at me. I merely sat there as still as possible, trying to tell him with my eyes what I'd tried to tell him forever.

_'I believe in you, Armin.'_

Then Armin's panick faded from his face. He quickly turned his attention to his audience and gave a military salute to them all.

"I WAS, I AM, AND I REMAIN A SOLDIER! SWORN TO DEDICATE MY HEART AND SOUL TO THE RESTORATION OF HUMANKIND! I HAVE NO GREATER AMBITION THAN TO GIVE UP MY OWN LIFE SHOULD IT HELP THAT CAUSE!"

Everyone was wide-eyed and shocked at Armin as he continued. "And let me suggest...why not add his 'Titan power' to our forces! To reclaim Trost!"

Armin was frantcially trying to persuade the superior officer as he continued to rasie his hand until out of nowhere, another hand grabbed his.

"That's enough." an older man ordered the one who was about to try to kill us for the second time today.

"COMMANDER PIXIS...!" the younger one exclaimed.

"I've barely arrived here, but I'm catching up fast."

The commander of the Garrison looked at Armin then at me, his eyes betraying nothing but interest.

"As for me..." Pixis continued. "Something tells me that I'd do well to hear what these two young men have to say."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Mikasa's P.O.V.<em>**

**_Location: Trost Gate Entrance_**

"Hei...Heichou..."

Levi kneeled down beside the dying man, as Petra began to shed tears for him. The young man had been found in the mouth of a titan that was fixing to devour him, had Levi not soared toward him and cut the vital spot.

We were just arriving back from the expedition, shocked upon reaching the gate to find that it was completely destroyed. My stomached churned again, the same ominous feeling I had earlier that day was coming back.

"Was I useful...to mankind...?" he asked, reaching a hand out as if trying to grab something. His eyes were tearing up as he fought hard not to let them close.

"Or will I die...useless like this?"

It was a question I'm sure every member of the Survey Corps had asked themselves at one point. I knew I had for sure.

Levi was silent for a few moments before grabbing the man's outreached arm.

"You did great." he commended the fatally wounded soldier. "And you'll do even more. Your spirit will stay with me and give me strength! I swear to you, I will exterminate the titans!"

After a few moments of silence, Petra finally spoke.

"Heichou..." Her voice was cracking and tears streamed down her cheeks. "He's gone..."

Levi looked down at the face of the corpse, his eyes closed. If there had not been blood gently pooling out from his body, he seemed to merely be in a peaceful sleep. Levi turned away and looked up at Petra.

"Did he hear everything?" he asked in a dead voice.

"I'm sure he heard it all." Petra replied before looking to the soldier's face. "He's resting so peacefully now."

They both glanced at the man's face, but I did not bring my gaze back to him.

"Good, then..." Levi said as he rose to his feet, so softly that I almost didn't hear him. From behind us, I heard the hoof beats of horses coming closer. Turning around, I saw Commander Erwin and a few other men ride up.

"Levi!" Commander Erwin called. Petra stood up as Levi turned to face him.

"We're going back!" he ordered us.

"Back? We haven't reached our limit yet." Levi's eyes turned into tiny slits as his face portrayed anger, though his voice remained steady. "Did my men die in vain?"

"The Titans have all started heading north towards the city."

Petra gasped at the news while Levi gave a growl and I narrowed my eyes. Erwin turned his head back towards the north.

"It's just like five years ago." he stated outloud, knowing that we all were thinking the same thing. "Something's happened in the city. They might've even broken through the Wall."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Eren's P.O.V.<strong>_

My whole body felt like it was going to be flattened by the massive stone that I carried in my titan body. The stone that would hopefully seal the broken gate in the Wall. And I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders.

And in a way...it was.

After Commander Pixis talked with Armin and I, he immediately devised a strategy based on Armin's mention of me blocking the hole with the boulder. And I had agreed that I would carry out this task or die trying.

A small movement caught my attention. I didn't stop my advances, but I looked down to see Armin running in front of me.

_'Armin?'_ I thought to myself.

He just kept running in front of me, as if guiding me to my destination. His eyes were terrified, but he pressed on ahead. I wanted to stop him, to pick him up and put him somewhere safe, away from the titans.

_'What're you doing down there with titans roaming around? If you stay down there, you'll die.'_

All of us in this world are born free. Even those who would like to deny it, those who try and take it away from others. But it doesn't erase the truth.

I wanted to be free. To break free of this cage world I was born into. I didn't care how cruel the unknown world out there was. Anyone who could see it...would be the most free person on earth...

In a world like this, there was only one thing you could do...

_FIGHT!_

My shouts turned into unintelligible titan roars as I swung the boulder as hard as I could at the gaping hole in the gate.

I had done it. I was able to help reclaim territory from the titans. For the first time in history, humanity had one a battle against the titans. And I was proud I had helped in the victory.

I tried walking away and back toward Wall Rose when I collapsed. My titan was drained of energy, and frankly so was I. My eyes kept fluttering shut, and I drifted into darkness for a few moments. The next thing I know, I feel the air on my body, cooling me where the titan body had made me feverish, hearing a familiar voice as he tried to get me out.

"Eren! Are you okay!?"

I heard Armin's voice calling out to me, frantic. But I was too weak, too tired to even move. My vision was horrible, my body was so hot I felt like even my brain was sweating. When I finally could see straight, I could make out two titans, reaching for us. I knew I needed to move, to try and transform again in order to protect Armin, but my mind was in a complete haze. They were coming closer and closer until...

I saw blood squirt out from their weak points, and a shadow zoom along with the flesh that had been cut out, hitting their fatal points.

_'Huh?'_

All of a sudden, the shadow was standing on the titan that had collapsed in front of us. Armed with their 3D maneuver gear. But this wasn't a member of the Garrison. There was a different emblem on the back of the green cloak that the soldier wore. I squinted my eyes to try and make out the design.

Wings. The wings of freedom. The emblem of the Survey Corps.

The soldier who had saved us turned their head to look down at us. Everything went black in my vision, but not before I saw the face of someone I'd never thought to see again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mikasa's<strong>_** P.O.V.**

I looked down from the titan I had just taken down. Swearing I had seen people down here, my head turned to look behind me. And I was correct as I spotted them, both in a pile of decaying titan flesh. One was absolutely entangled in the sticky mess.

And to my shock, I recognized both of them.

"Eren? Armin?"

I was surprised at how the tw of them somehow were in the absolute middle of this. Jumping down to where Armin held Eren's still form, I asked Armin, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes..."

My eyes wandered to Eren. He was covered in what looked to be a titan's rotting flesh, steaming off his face. He was sweating so I took my hand and placed it on his forehead. Boy, was he feverish.

"Take him to the dungeon beneath the military court." Levi instructed me. "I guess we'll deal with him when he wakes up."

* * *

><p>It took a long time for Eren Yeager to wake up from his coma like state apparently. Levi went with Erwin to go speak with him just a few days before the date his trial was scheduled for. Levi had our entire squad going through the necessary paperwork, and he had me collecting background information on Eren. It wasn't until the morning of the trial, that something in particular caught my eye.<p>

"Yeager..." I murmured to myself as I looked at the name of Eren's father.

I finally remembered.

"What about him?" Levi said from behind me, startling me.

Turning around to face him, I didn't take my eyes off the documents. "His father was a doctor."

"Dr. Grisha Yeager...why does that interest you?"

"Oh...no reason." I could tell by the look in Levi's eyes that he knew I was lying. But he let the matter drop.

He approached me before taking the reports out of my hands, adding them to his already thick stack. You would think that with humanity pushed to the brink of extinction, no one would give a shit about paperwork.

"Come on. The trial is about to begin. Is this everything?"

"Everything I could find." I replied as I followed quickly behind him. "I'm supposed to get more from Squad Leader Brzenska."

"Very well. You'll see her at court."

The silence that followed lasted only a minute. Something about this whole issue was making me curious.

"Levi?"

He didn't cast me a glance but I knew he was listening.

"Well, why is it that I'm coming along? I mean, I've had nothing to do with this investigation. Plus, you still think I'm a kid."

"You**_ are_** still kid." he quickly retorted. "And sometimes a rather bothersome one."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you going to answer me?"

"You'll understand. Just remember all you've learned."

That was all he said to me before we entered the court room. Niles Dok, the commander of the Military Police was already present as were several members. Commander Erwin soon entered the court room and stood on Levi's other side.

"So how do you think this will go?" Levi asked him, as we patiently waited for the trial to begin.

"We'll just have to play our cards right."

I remained standing beside them, glancing around the room. In the back, I could see them leading Eren into the front, where they would chain him in fornt of the Military judge. I could also make out Hanji and Mike as they filed in. The blonde haired boy who had somehow taken a seat next to me without my detection caught my attention.

"Armin..." I murmured, my eyes widened a fraction at seeing him, though I knew I really shouldn't have been surprised. He turned his head to the sound of his name.

"Oh. Ackerman!" Armin replied, surprised to see me here. "What're you doing here?"

Levi immediately looked past me and onto the blonde. "Friend of yours, Mikasa?"

"We were in training together...you could say that."

Armin and I both turned our gaze in front of us as they chained the brown haired boy in front of us, in front of the entire court. His eyes calmly observed the room taking in all the sights, until they rested on Armin. At the sight of his friend, they grew wide. But when he saw me, his expression grew even more shocked. I'm sure he had no clue what exactly was going on.

I leaned my head down near Armin's to quietly whisper to him. "Don't worry about him. Commander Smith and Levi Heichou know what they're doing."

He merely nodded, his eyes still on his friend as Commander-in-chief Darius Zackly walked into the court room. He quietly sat and picked up the papers that had been laid on his desk.

"So let's begin." Zackly said as he read the documents. "You are Eren Yeager, yes? As a soldier, you've pledged your life to serve the public. Correct?"

"Yes, sir." Eren replied calmly.

"Regular law doesn't apply to these exceptional circumstances." the commander-in-chief explained to the confused youth. "Therefore this will be a military tribunal. Ultimate authority has been entrusted to me...Even over your life."

He looked up at the young soldier on his knees before him, laying down his papers.

"Now I will ask you only once...Do you have any objections?"

It was silent in the next few moments as everyone anticipated Eren's answer. "No, sir!"

"I'm glad to see you understand. Now this unprecedented case has given rise to many conflicted, passionate arguments behind these Walls. There are those who call you a demon that will lead us to destruction. And others consider you a savior who will bring hope to humanity. As expected, keeping your existence from the general public has proved impossible. Therefore today's tribunal will determine who receives custody of you...

"The Military Police...or the Survey Corps."

Eren's eyes gazed from one side of the court room to the other as Zackly gave Nile Dok the chance to propose his case.

"Sir, I am Chief Nile Dok of the Military Police Brigade. And we believe that Eren's body should be thoroughly examined...then disposed of without delay. Careful consideration of the grave damage his existence would impose led us to this conclusion. His existence might even spark a civil war. Therefore after extracting as much inforamtion as possible from him, we will turn him into a martyr for the human race."

"That isn't necessary!" exclaimed the man who had been standing beside Chief Dok snce I had arrived. "He's a pest that infiltrated the divine Wall Rose through trickery. He must be executed immediately!"

I realized who this man was; he was one of the fanatics that worshipped the walls like they were gods or soemthing. I'd never paid much attention to them before, but this one seemed eager to have Yeager sentenced to death.

"Minister Nick, please quiet down." Zackly ordered the pastor of the wall worshippers. "Next we will hear from the Survey Corps."

Commander Erwin stepped up closer to railing in front of us, holding his own documents as he spoke.

"Sir. I am Erwin Smith, 13th commander of the Survey Corps. We intend to induct Eren as one of our own and use his titan power to reclaim Wall Maria. That is all."

Everyone was surprised at Erwin's brief proposal, including me. Well, the ones closer to Erwin, like Hanji, Mike, and Levi didn't seem too shocked. I could tell that Zackly seemed somewhat surprised.

"That's all you have to say?" he asked Erwin again.

"Yes. I believe our priorities are clear."

I noticed a death glance pass between Chief Dok and Commander Erwin. And as I still disliked Commander Smith, I absolutely loathed Nile Dok mainly because of his attitude. I didn't do or say anything though. Just watched and listened carefully.

Darius Zackly briefly looked down at his paperwork before looking around the court room. "Is Armin Arlert here?"

I could feel Armin's nervous form beside me as he answered. "H-Here, sir!"

"So you're trainee Arlert...? In the reports, it said you were the one to inform everyone that Mr. Yeager was a titan...Is this correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tell me...how did you know?"

"Well...at first I thought he was dead. He'd had both of his legs bitten off and had fallen to the ground."

Armin hesitated only for a moment, but being the asshole he was, Dok pressed him. "Go on, Mr. Arlert."

The blonde haired boy began again. "I heard him yell out. So...I looked for him and found him on the ground. He was bleeding quickly, but I suddenly saw steam surround him and...the next thing I saw...was a titan."

"And you assumed this was Eren?" Nile Dok interrogated Armin.

"Only after-"

"Yes or no will do, Mr. Arlert."

Armin bit down on his bottom lip before answering. "Y-yes...But-"

"Him, too!" Someone from the crowd, it looked like a merchant, started yelling out. He pointed his finger at the blonde standing beside me. "How else would he know right away that Yeager was a titan if_** he**_ wasn't one himself?"

The entire court room erupted into complete chaos as people shouted in outrage.

"Of course! It takes one to know one..."

"We should dissect that one to, just in case..."

"YEAH!"

"_**ENOUGH**_!" Eren suddenly screamed out, and I felt Armin tense beside me. I had to suppress the shock forming on my face; Did he really just scream out at the court? No matter what position he was already in, it was sure to get worse thanks to that.

The boy on trial suddenly looked around himself, continuing. "I may be a monster, but Armin has absolutely **_NOTHING_ **to do with it."

"Listen here-!" someone ordered.

"NO! _**YOU**_ LISTEN!" Eren shouted at everyone, growing angry. "All of you are just saying whatever speculation happens to be convenient to them! But once you've cut yourselves off from reality, it's all pointless!"

Everyone was silent as they gaped at the boy in the shackles. Nile Dok was the only one I heard speak. "How dare you?"

"First of all," Eren began again, prodded by the Chief of the Military Police's demand. "Most of you have never even **_seen_ **a titan! What are you so afraid of?! What can we we do when the people who have power don't fight?! If you're afraid of fighting for your own lives...then help **_me._**"

_"**SO SHUT YOUR MOUTHS AND INVEST EVERYTHING YOU HAVE IN ME**!"_

It was deathly silent in the court room. No one seemed to have a clue how to react. Until Nile Dok, with a wave of his arm, motioned for the guards to aim their rifles. Levi swiftly made eye contact with me before I saw him gesturing his eyes in Eren's direction.

That's when I understood what Levi had brought me here for.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Eren's P.O.V.<strong>_

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized my error. Surely, they'd kill me now.

_'Shit, I should've kept my mouth shut!'_ I hissed at myself. I prepared myself for the shot, having already seeing the guards aim their rifles.

Something suddenly rammed into my cheek violently. It wasn't a bullet though; it wasn't nowhere near as forceful.

_'Something flew out...'_ I thought to myself, wincing with pain as I saw a tiny, white object zoom away from me.

_'Was that...a tooth? ...My tooth?'_

The same impact hit my gut, and I couldn't help but spit out. My eyes travelled to discover a boot, then up the strong leg that had kicked me until I made out a face.

_'Ackerman?'_

She kicked me over and over again, showing no restraint yet her face was absolutely emotionless. Yanking my hair, she pulled my face up to where she could knee me in the face easier.

I felt absolute hatred for Ackerman. While we'd never been that close in training, I'd always thought that those brief months together at least formed a friendship. Never did I imagine that she'd beat and kick the living shit out of me. Damn, she was strong, too. It was pissing me off, and if I wasn't in the fucking shackles, I would've loved to give her a taste of her own medicine. I glared up at her, with nothing but loathing in my eyes before she kicked my head down and stepped on it.

"This is just my own personal opinion..." I heard her state in a dull voice. "But I've always thought pain taught more lessons than words did."

"Levi, control your subordinate! Wait, girl!" someone finally called out. I looked up to see the commander of the Military Police, holding his hand out as if to stop her by the mere action.

"What is it?" she asked, an emotionless expression on her face and in the next instant, the bottom of her boot was in my face, pressing my head against the pole I was cuffed to.

"What'll we do if you piss him off enough and he turns into a titan?"

"What are you going on about?"

She suddenly grabbed me by my hair and pulled my head up, as if to show them my face.

"You're the ones who wanted to_** dissect** _him...Am I wrong?"

"Eren Yeager apparently killed 20 titans while he was one himself." Levi informed the court. "And he stopped only out of exhaustion. His intelligence would make him a formidable enemy, wouldn't you agree?"

Nobody replied to the Captain's question.

"But he's not_** my**_ enemy..." Ackerman seemed to finish for him. "Is he yours?"

No one answered the question. And in that time frame, Commander Smith continued with his address.

"Commander-in-chief...I have a new proposal. There are obviously many unknown elements behind Eren Yeager's titan power..."

My ears tuned in attentively to the Survey Corps Commander.

"Therefore in the event that you award us custody...I will pair him with Captain Levi as a failsafe. Even in the worst case scenario...Levi would be able to deal with Eren."

"I see..." I heard Zackly comment before addressing Levi. "Can you do it, Levi?"

"If you mean killing him, it's no problem." the captain answered in a calm voice and I heard his form approaching the spot where I was. Ackerman made her way back to where ever she'd come from.

"Rather, the problem is that there would be no half-measures..."

"I see we have exhausted this line of inquiry..." the commander-in-chief stated. "I will now make my decision..."

"Please, wait!" Nile Dok interrupted, turning his eyes from Zackly onto the commander. "Erwin, I need to ask you...What will you do about the interior?"

"I'm quite aware that our activities outside the Walls," Commander Smith replied. "depend on the stability of the human race. And I don't take issues in the interior lightly. Let me propose that to calm the public, we prove that Eren is a valuable asset to humanity in our next expedition outside the Walls."

"I see..." Zackly commented on this suggestion. "You plan to go outside the Walls...then it's settled..."

The entire court room seemed on edge, myself included, waiting on Darius Zackly's final decision.

"Eren Yeager is placed in the care of the Survey Corps...but he may return here, depending on his accomplishments."

* * *

><p>"Owwww..." I mumbled as I sat on the couch Ms. Hanji had led me to. I was a little disappointed that they didn't let Armin come, but it seemed only four came were allowed to come with the commander: Mike, Hanji, Levi and...Ackerman. Which, by the way she glared at Commander Smith, didn't seem like it was because she was fond of him.<p>

Of course right now, I wasn't too fond of **_her_** myself.

"Sorry about that." a man's voice said, and I looked up to see Commander Erwin standing in front of me.

"I suppose Levi and Ackerman made it a little too convincing. But..." he continued with a small smile. "You did get your point across to the commander-in-chief and other VIPs anyway."

"Right..." I mumbled, holding the rag that Hanji had given me to my cheek once again.

"And it gave us the perfect chance to play the card we had up our sleeve. Believe me, it was well worth the pain."

He held out a hand to me. "You have my respect. I look forward to working with you."

"Sir." I replied. I took his hand, feeling so...happy. That my dreams were slowly coming true. And I was so honored that I had earned of all people, Commander Erwin Smith's respect. He gave me a smile as we shook hands. As soon as we let go, a sudden motion caught me off guard, and I flinched as I spotted Captain Levi.

"Tell me, Eren..." Levi said, plopping down beside me on the couch.

"Y-yes, sir?!"

"Do you resent Ackerman and me?"

"N-no, sir! I know that you both needed to put on a show..." I glanced over at her still form as she leaned against the wall, staring the opposite way.

"Well, _**she** _could've showed some restraint!" Hanji remarked, holding something in a cloth in her hand.

"What's that?" Levi asked.

"Your squad member's handiwork in court."

"Impressive..." Levi said, unemotional.

"No! She kicked him so hard, it _broke_ his tooth!"

"I'd say that beats getting dissected any day." Ackerman replied, turning in our direction.

Hanji kneeled in front of me, rolling her eyes in annoyance at Ackerman. "Eren, show me your mouth..."

I removed the bloody rag from my face and leaned forward, opening my mouth. She didn't speak for a few minutes, and out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Levi, Ackerman, Commander Erwin, and Mike looking curiously at her. Her face was amazed.

"It's...growing back..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:** There you go! Chapter four, all finished! WOOOO HOOO! And our two heroes are reunited at last!_

_I tried to make it as accurate as possible, as for what would happen in this scenario. How'd you like Mikasa? XD She goes from saving him to beating him up._

_Anyway, I must get ready for EreMika week...man, I'm feeling quite stressed. It snuck up on me. See you next time!_


	5. Chapter 5: Arrival

_**A/N: **Hello again! It's been a while, eh? Well, here's another chapter! This is...kinda of a...well...I wanted to...I don't fucking know. I wanted to write it in the plot. It's kinda just their arrival at the castle and...other shit..._

_So read and enjoy!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mikasa's P.O.V.<strong>_

I rode along with the rest of my squad as we transported Eren from the dungeons to a castle that used to be the Survey Corps HQ. It'd been a long time since anyone had been there, so I knew how Levi would react. _Clean it up immediately. This place looks like complete shit. _I wasn't a mind reader, but hang around Levi enough and you can pretty much predict that reaction with one hundred percent accuracy.

As soon as the castle came into view, Oluo started trying to sound like the brains of the operation. "This is the former HQ of the Survey Corps, a facility that is no more than an old converted castle. Charming, but...being so far away from both the wall and the river, it proved worse than useless. Who could've figured that this oversized decoration would be the best place to keep you locked up?"

Eren was too preoccupied with glancing all around him to pay much attention to Oluo. His eyes slowly turned in every direction, but he almost fell off his horse when he saw Levi glaring back at him. Yeager quickly turned his attention back to the front. It wasn't an unusual reaction. Levi wore a scowl on his face ninety percent of the time, and he had the type of scowl that made the saying '_If looks could kill' _seem more than just a saying.

"Don't get cocky, rookie!" Oluo suddenly said, bumping into Eren, obviously trying to make him listen to him.

"Excuse me?!"

"I don't know about this titan business..." Oluo began. "But the idea of Captain Levi constantly chaperoning a pissant like you makes me-"

And then we heard Eren gasp. None of us needed to look up to know what had happened.

Oluo had bitten on his tongue. _Again._

'_Precisely why you should learn not to talk while riding a horse, Oluo.' _I thought to myself before glancing beside me at an annoyed Petra.

It wasn't long before we reached the castle and Levi quickly slid off his horse and gave me the reigns to put him up. I walked over to the horse stables with both horses, quietly tying them up. When I finished with Levi's, I moved to get my horse settled when I saw Eren in the next stall, putting up his horse. We had only made brief eye contact before Petra and Oluo started squabbling, like usual.

"Blathering like that on a horse..." Petra commented to Oluo. "Of course you're going to bite your tongue."

Oluo kneeled by the well, washing his mouth with a bucket of water he'd drawn up. "I was making a first impression. That rookie was quaking in his boots."

"I think he's just surprised at how foolish you are..."

"At any rate...he's just what I expected."

"Oluo, you never used to talk like this...And...this is just a guess...but if you're trying to act like Heichou, just stop it, would you?..."

"Eren?" I asked after hearing enough of their arguing. I heard them bicker all the time these days, and it always stemmed back to the same thing: Oluo trying to be a Levi Jr. It was so annoying.

His attention turned away from the quarreling pair and to me. "What is it?"

"I just..." I had no idea why, but my courage failed me for a moment. However, I continued. "...I want to verify something I found in the reports..."

He looked at me, inclining his head, waiting for me to continue.

"Your father was a doctor?"

His eyes grew wide with surprise, seeming caught off guard at the question. "Uhhh...yeah...What makes you ask?"

"Like I said..." I hurriedly continued. "I just wanted to verify the information."

Gunther, Erd, and Levi walked past us in that next moment, and Eren eyed them with a slightly nervous look. I could only imagine what he must've been thinking; he knew that if he lost control, any of us would kill him.

That wouldn't exactly calm my nerves either.

I gave Eren a small nod before heading toward the front door, trailing behind the group that had just passed us. I came to a stop just a few feet away, listening as the three men spoke.

"It hasn't been used in a long time, so it's kind of fallen to disrepair." Gunther stated.

"That's a major problem." Levi commented. "Fix it up immediately."

_'Dammit.' _I groaned internally.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Eren's P.O.V.<strong>_

"Um sir? The top floor is cleaned." I said to Heichou as I entered the room. He had just opened the window and dust was flying everywhere.

He gave no reply to my statement, but instead turned around to look at me.

"Where should I sleep in the castle?"

Heichou pulled the cloth mask off his mouth before answering. "The basement."

"Eh? Again?" I replied as I pulled my own mask off.

"You still can't control yourself. If you turn into a titan while you're asleep, the basement will be the ideal place for us to restrain you...It was one of the conditions we were given when we got custody of you. We have to obey it."

A moment of silence passed as I looked at him. This wasn't how I'd imagined him at all...

He headed toward the door way, walking briefly past me. His short figure didn't even pause as he left.

"Do this room." he ordered. "I'll go check the ones you've already done."

"Yes, sir." I replied quietly, remaining still as I heard his footsteps while he went up the nearby staircase until they faded away.

"You look disappointed."

I was startled by the voice and quickly turned around to see one of the squad members. Petra Ral.

"Sorry?" I asked.

"It isn't an unusual reaction. He doesn't seem to be the perfect hero people make him out to be, does he?"

No. He really didn't. I would expect him to not take orders from anyone. Not to be so...odedient to his superiors. I guess I was disappointed deep down.

"The real Captain Levi..." she continued. "...is unexpectedly short, high-strung, ill-mannered, and unapproachable."

"What took me by surprise was how willingly he complies with those ranked above him..." I answered truthfully.

"I don't know all the details...but I think he used to be close to that. I heard that he was a notorious thug in the Capital's underground market..."

"Really?"

Petra nodded. "In fact, I think that I heard Commander Erwin brought him into the Survey Corps...along with Mikasa, but I'm not sure what her story is. She's never talked about it."

"Mikasa?" I asked. I knew that name; it took me by surprise to hear it after all these years.

"The oriental girl in our group." Petra clarified and frowned. "I thought she knew you in training. Did you not know what her name-?"

"Hey, Eren!"

Speak of the devil...

I turned to face the door while Petra seemed to panic and began to sweep very rapidly. Ackerman gave a quick glance at her before turning her eyes on me, a rather pissed expression on her face that caught me off guard.

"W-what is it?"

"You call that room clean?! You better go upstairs and do it all again before Heichou has a fit."

She flew out of the room just as fast as she'd come. I walked back upstairs in a daze as I processed the information that Petra had given me.

_'Ackerman...You're...Mikasa...?'_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mikasa's P.O.V. <strong>_

"Fucking dammit, Levi." I hissed as cleaned the next room with him. "You're such a damn neat freak."

"And you're a fucking messy brat." he retorted. "Cleanliness won't kill you, Mikasa."

"No, it won't. You take to a different level altogether."

He gave me one of his world famous scowls, the one he gave Eren not too long ago, even though he knew it had no effect on me at all. When you've seen all the horrific shit I've seen, it tends to either toughen you or break you. In my case, it seemed to do both.

Giving in to my childish thoughts, I glared back at him, just as intensely as he scowled at me. I knew that my own glares scared normal people shitless, but Levi was about as normal as I was. Honestly, I think I could commit cold-blooded massacres in front of him and he wouldn't show an ounce of emotion and vice versa. Levi had never talked much about his past with me, but I knew he must've gone through some shit to turn out like he was...the way I was.

"Keep it up, Mikasa." Levi challenged. "I'll have you cleaning until you shit out cleaning products."

He knew me too well; that was all he had to say to get me to stop because he knew I despised cleaning...at least, cleaning to satisfy his obsessive nature.

"You're still wearing that thing?" he asked after I'd turned around to continue my work, trying to clean all the dust off a bookshelf.

"Huh?"

"The scarf."

"Oh..." I mumbled, tugging at it self-consciously. "Yeah...I like it...it's...warm."

"Is Yeager the one who gave it to you?"

"Y-yes...why are you asking me all of this?" I was getting annoyed at his interrogations. More surprised that he'd seemed to put the pieces together that quickly. Was it that obvious to him?

"I was just curious, Mikasa." he replied, taking in my expression. "There's no need to get all worked up."

Turning around to face him, I swiftly replied in a calm voice, "I'm not getting worked up."

"Whatever, you brat." he commented. "Who knows? That scarf maybe your red string of fate."

For the first time in years, heat threatened to color my face. I nervously laughed off his little remark. "Yeah, whatever. it's just a fucking scarf, Levi."

"If you say so, Mikasa."

I didn't speak another word after that for the rest of the day. In fact, I avoided everyone after he said we could finish our cleaning duties in the morning. I went to the training grounds to practice my combat skills, deciding not to go to dinner. Exercise always made me feel better afterwards, and it wasn't that I worried about breaking composure; it was just that something from a long time ago was trying to come to the surface of my mind. Something that I must've supressed for a long time.

Flying around on my 3D maneuver gear, I focused on accurately slicing the vital points as quickly as possible while I was trying to remember whatever it was in the back of my mind. It was annoying how I couldn't pull the memory to the surface. Like I had refused it for so long that now it decided to torture me with a game of cat-and-mouse. I knew that whatever it was that I was trying to remember, it would probably just tear my heart into pieces again. It just hurt too much to think about the past, but at the same time I didn't want to forget. I didn't want to forget my loving parents, but if I dared even think about them...

Forbidden to remember yet frightened to forget...It was a difficult position.

As soon as I finished training, I ran to my room and grabbed my night clothes before going to the bathroom and stripped to take a shower. The hot water relaxed my aching muscles as I washed up, and I would've stayed in there for a lot longer if I didn't have to worry about how much water I was using. I finished cleaning up, quickly putting on my clothes and curling up in my bed. I couldn't force my eyes to shut right away so I merely let them wander about the room until they stopped on something.

Even in the darkness, I could see it. Right where I had flung it on my way in. That red scarf.

_'That scarf may be your red thre-'_

No.

Quickly, my hand fisted the sheets and shoved them over my head so that I couldn't see the scarf anymore. I forced Levi's words out of my head, words that had a bigger impact on me than I'd originally thought; I didn't believe in such a thing. At least...not anymore.

It took a long time, but I finally managed to silence my mind and fall asleep.

_"What does that mean, Mommy?" I asked her as she held me in her lap by the fire place. "What do you mean by the 'red string of fate' ?"_

_"Oh...well..." my mother began, giving a nervous laugh as she tried to find the right words to explain it to my seven year old mind. "It's an ancient belief of our clan's culture._

_"Hmmm. Let me tell you a story about it." my mother said. "Well, once there was a young boy. He was walking home during the night when he saw an old man named staring at the moon. The old man told the little boy that he was attached to his destined wife by a red thread. He even showed him the little girl who would grow up and become his wife."_

_"What did the little boy do, Mommy?" I asked._

_"Well, the little boy was young with no interest in having a wife so he picked up a rock and threw it at the little girl before running away."_

_"That's so mean!" I interrupted, angry for what the boy did._

_My mother gave a small giggle at me before continuing. "Many years later, the boy grows into a man, and his parents arrange a wedding for him. When he meets his new wife and lifts her veil. He's delighted to see she's beautiful, but she had an adornment on her eyebrow. When he asks why she wears it, she responds that when she was a little girl, a boy threw a rock at her, and it left a scar where it had struck her and she wears the adornment out of self-consciousness."_

_"She's the little girl he threw the rock at!" I exclaimed in surprise._

_"Yes! The woman was the girl that the old man showed him he was connected to with the red thread."_

_"Mommy, is that true? Are people really connected to their soul mates with a red thread? If so, how come I haven't seen a red thred on me?"_

_"Mikasa, the red thread isn't visible." my mother explained, stroking my hair. "It may take a while before you find it."_

_My eyes grew heavy as sleep threatened to overpower me, but I still had more questions._

_"Mommy...?"_

_"Yes, sweetie?"_

_"Do you believe...in...it?"_

_My mother's smiling face was the last thing I saw before I drifted to sleep in her arms, her words echoing in my dreams._

_"Yes, Mikasa. I do believe in the red thread of destiny."_

My eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the darkness. I sat up, stretching some before getting out of my bed. It was the middle of the night, and everyone else was bound to still be asleep. But usually on nights like this, I was never able to get back to sleep so I decided to go ahead and put my uniform on.

When I was fully dressed, I just stood looking out the window for a while, deep in thought. My mother had been so kind and gentle...I still had a hard time thinking someone could brutally murder her like the way she had been.

I took the red scarf and wrapped it around my neck. It was very good at keeping me warm, for a small piece of cloth. I didn't feel complete without it anymore. But I'm not sure if that's because it's that warm or just because of the thoughtfulness behind it being given to me.

At that moment, my stomach growled, bringing to my attention that I hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday morning. Restless, I quietly headed to the kitchen, feeling hungry for the first time since that afternoon.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Eren's P.O.V.<em>**

I knew I was dreaming. But it wasn't just a dream, it was also a distant memory of an incident I wished I could've stopped. That was the day that my dad dragged me along with him out in the wide open spaces of Wall Maria. I was nine years old at the time, and like most other boys my age, I didn't want to follow my father around; I wanted to be with with friends my own age. But my dad insisted I come, hoping that I might make friends with his patient.

_"Mikasa?" I asked my dad, looking up at him through the rain drops as he stood knocking on the door of the house we'd arrived at. It was an interesting name, to say the least; I'd never heard one like it before._

_"Yes, a little girl your age." my dad answered._

_I knew what my dad would say next before the words were even out of his mouth. __"There aren't many children around here, so make friends with her."_

_"Okay." I answered before adding, "But that's gonna depend on her attitude..."_

_"Eren...Your attitude is why you only have one friend."_

_I didn't answer, though I was a little miffed; Armin was a good friend. I didn't need tons of friends so long as I had Armin as one. My dad's face creased with confusion as he kept knocking on the door._

_"Is no one home?" he said to himself before calling out a little more loudly. "Mr. Ackerman, this is Dr. Jaeger."_

_My dad turned the knob, his face showing surprise as he realized it was unlocked. He pushed it open._

_"Excuse me..."_

_And his voice trailed off. I looked around him to see what he saw._

_To see two bodies, both surrounded in pools of blood. One was of a sandy haired man, slumped against a table and an arm covering his stomach. There was a woman with long, straight black hair laying on her side just further back from the door. A chair was turned over, and a tub was overturned, the water from it mingled with their blood._

_My dad immediately put a finger to the man's neck before running over to the woman's. I knew he was checking for a pulse, and could tell he hadn't felt one when he cursed._

_"No good. They've been dead for hours..."_

_I didn't walk inside. Instead, I just looked around. I'd never seen such a violent scene before in my life, but it didn't scare me. All I could wonder was who would do such an evil thing._

_"Eren..." My dad called, momentarily having my attention. "Do you see a little girl nearby? Is Mikasa around?"_

_"No, she isn't." I grabbed onto the door handle to come closer._

_"I see...now I'm going to call for the police to request an investigation. You go and wait for me."_

_I didn't answer him. His words seemed incomprehensible in that moment._

_"Did you understand me, Eren?"_

My eyes shot open, my heart thumping like crazy as I sat up. Sweat had formed on my forehead, and I wiped it off with my shirt sleeve.

_'Just a memory...'_ I thought to myself as I began to calm down.

Just the same as back then, I could feel the adrenaline pumping through me. Like I was reliving it all over again, not that I hadn't before. I knew exactly what would follow my father's orders. Just the same thing that had happened in real life.

I would've left, making it seem that I was obeying my father. But in actuality, I was sneaking into the kitchen to grab a knife before sneaking back out. I would tuck it into a belt loop before running for the woods. Then I would find tracks that I knew would lead me to the sick bastards who had Mikasa, meanwhile my mind would form a plan of how I would save her.

After a while of roaming, I would arrive at the cabin and knock at the door, prepared to look lost and scared in order to trick them to let me in. But after a while of waiting, I would walk inside to find the damn place empty.

And realize that I was too late to save her.

I put my hand to my face, rubbing my aching temples as I remembered that day with utmost clarity. My dad had found me later on, scolding me for my recklessness and later getting home only to receive the same panicked lecture from my mother. And I had finally erupted.

"I only wanted to save her!" I had yelled at my parents before running upstairs to my room. In my wrath, I had completely wrecked my room until I was exhausted. My mom came in later that night, while I was drifting off. She pulled the covers over me and started to leave the room. And that was when I finally accepted what had been invading my mind since earlier that day.

Humans could be worse than titans themselves.

I jumped out of bed and paced the room some, knowing that I wasn't allowed to go upstairs. But as long as I stayed down in the basement, it shouldn't be an issue that I walked around a bit unescorted.

The old castle's 'basement' honestly looked more like it had been converted from a dungeon than anything else. Very similar to the dungeons under the military court room. It brought back the feeling of chains on my wrists, feeling like a caged bird...

But that was how I'd felt since as early as I could remember. Like a caged bird. Armin had felt the same way, that reason being why the neighborhood kids either ignored us or bullied us. Which brought to mind...

How was Armin? I hadn't seen him since that day in court. Hadn't actually talked to him since before the Battle of Trost. I hoped he was doing alright...

I passed a door way to a staircase, and I froze. I didn't want to stay down here; I felt so trapped right now, I wanted to go outside to clear my mind. Everyone else was probably asleep. A quick trip outside without anyone knowing wouldn't hurt anyone...

I rapidly climbed up the stairs, deciding to just act on the impulse. I knew what triggered my titan form: self-inflicted pain. As long as I didn't bite my thumb, they wouldn't have a reason to slit my throat although Heichou would probably punish me...

Not that that had ever stopped me before.

As soon as I was upstairs, I tried to keep as silent as possible, not wanting to get caught. But as soon as turned the first corner, I heard footsteps coming closer so I quickly darted into a nearby room. I thought I was safe until the door to the room I'd turned into started to move.

_'FUCK.'_

The door opened slowly, and Mikasa walked in, fully clothed in the middle of the night. She froze when she finally spotted me, and for the first time ever, I saw emotion on her face; it was completely shocked.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:** And I'll leave it at that! Mainly because 1.) Cliff Hanger...I guess(?) and 2.) my mom is about to come home from work and we share a family computer. I thought I did okay on this chapter. I decided to look up the red thread of destiny legend just because I thought 'Hey. The fuckin scarf is red (in the anime that is.) Why not have that be their red thread, eh?' _

_Watch it turn out that someone else had thought of it first...Oi, I can be slow as shit sometimes. _

_Anyway, I know it'd been a while so I hope you enjoyed it! ^-^_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:** Hello, everyone! Here's the new chapter. Sorry it took me forever. You see, I've not been able to write as much as I want because my brother and his family moved back in with us. There are four kids under the age of ten and the way they cling to me, you'd think I was their mom. So yeah, been busy. Also I had to write an essay for a scholarship application and I'm very proud to say that I got it!_

_Anyway...I will let you get on with the chapter. Enjoy! I hope it's okay..._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mikasa's P.O.V.<strong>_

The shadow that I could sense in my room startled me. But when I was finally able to make out the person, a combination of shock and irritation rose to the surface.

"What're you doing?!" I said quietly, though made sure to put as much venom in my voice a possible.

His face looked as shocked as mine. "Calm dow-"

"Don't tell me to calm down! Get out of my room and go back downstairs now!"

Quickly, I grabbed hold of his wrist and half dragged him to the door as he struggled to break free. Though it did him little good; I was easily stronger than he was.

"Oh, come on!" he whispered back, still fighting my grip. "How would you feel being locked up like a bird?"

I gave an impatient huff. If he was trying to make ME feel guilty, it wasn't going to work. "Orders from above are not to ignored. Especially not with risk of you losing control."

"But what have I done to make people think that?! I haven't attacked anyone. It seems like you're all afraid of the unknown to me!"

"Most people are. I thought you understood people so well." My sarcasm seemed to rub him the wrong way. Good. "I can see you've not changed much since the last time I saw you."

"No, of course not." he countered, angry now. "The last time you saw me, you were prying into my personal life, not ever bothering to apologize for beating the shit out of me. It just makes me want to be your best friend and everything."

I might've said something back to his sarcasm, until the last bit caught me off guard. Guilt set in once again at the mention of his trial. I hadn't apologized, though I'd been thinking about it. But with all the work we'd been thrown into with Eren joining the squad, apologizing had kind of slipped my mind. I took a few minutes to collect my thoughts before I responded.

"I'm sorry for...the trial incident." Genuinely, I was. I'm not generally a sadistic person, though I could understand if he thought that of me now.

He didn't answer for a few minutes, his face slowly turned from pissed to almost emotionless. "It's fine. I knew you needed to put on a show."

I sighed. "If you knew, then why are you prying an apology out of me?"

"Maybe it's because I like making you squirm."

I rolled my eyes. "Go to hell."

"Okay. I'll save you a seat."

"You're such a fucking child." I remarked, though of course I couldn't deny that I was acting like one, too. Something about him was pushing my buttons though.

Neither of us even seemed to breathe for a few moments. The air was thick with tension, and the silence did nothing to help.

"So..." Eren finally said.

I looked up at him reluctantly, still annoyed. "What?"

"You couldn't sleep either, huh?"

I was taken by surprise. "Well...that and I got a little hungry..."

"Oh yeah. I noticed you'd skipped dinner. Any reason why?"

"I...I wanted to train...and dinner would just slow me down."

"I guess...that would be a good reason."

"Is there something else you'd like to say?" I asked, slightly impatient. "I would like to try to get a little sleep in before we have to get up."

When he didn't answer, I assumed that he was going to say no and began to walk to the door to open it for him.

"Mikasa?" I turned around to face him reluctantly. It wasn't until I'd turned around that I wondered about how he knew my first name.

"I've been wanting to ask you something all day. It's...kind of been driving me crazy."

"G-go ahead." I replied. My gut started to churn and deep down I felt as though I would regret answering.

"Do you remember a man named Yeager? A doctor?"

My eyes widened in response. The memory was faint, but I did remember the doctor; he'd come to our home to give me check-ups. But I was surprised that Eren would think that there was a connection between me and his father. After all, I'm sure his father had lots of other patients.

"Yes. I remember him." I quietly answered. "When I was little, he came to my house to give me check-ups. We were expecting him the day-"

I cut myself off when I realized that I had said too much. I hadn't spoken a word about that day since I met Levi, Isabel, and Farlan. I was surprised that I had even remembered that small detail, especially now of all times.

I thought I was dreaming when Eren finished my sentence.

"The day your parents were murdered?"

I fought to keep my face composed; how did he know what had happened that horrific day? I had never mentioned it to anyone, not even allowed myself to think about it in years. Yet this boy who I barely knew seemed to know all about it.

"How did you know about that?" The words were almost inaudible, but he still heard them. I kept my face guarded carefully, not wanting to reveal any emotions.

"Because my dad took me with him that day so that you and I could meet and hopefully become friends. But..." his voice trailed off. I didn't need to hear his words to guess at what he was seeing. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes; the memory of that day was seared into my mind, whether I wanted it to be or not.

"He noticed you were nowhere to be found and called the police. I...had my own course of action...but obviously, I was too late."

Words tried to form on my mouth, but nothing came out. I wished that he would just turn and walk away at that moment, but I knew all too well that I wouldn't have such luck. His next words brought me back to the present though.

"I'm sorry, Mikasa."

My head snapped up to look up at him, my face in complete disbelief. He was looking down on the floor, a single tear on his cheek. Why the hell was he crying? It wasn't his fault or anything yet here he was, guilty and angry tears in his eyes. A strange feeling washed over me and for a moment, I couldn't speak.

"Eren, it's not your fault." I finally replied. "Why the hell...are you crying?"

"If I'd gotten there in time...I could've saved you." Eren murmured, wiping his face with his sleeve quickly. "I've wondered all these years at what happened to you. I assumed you'd been sold off or...or...I'm...so sorry, Mikasa."

I swallowed, uncomfortable at the memories he was dragging to the surface. Things I wanted to forget. The way I knew how to end this conversation was to go ahead and tell him what had happened, since he was the type of person who didn't take no for an answer.

"After they killed..." I said barely above a whisper, skipping a lot of details. "...my parents...I was taken to the underground market. That's where I met Levi. He...saved me from being sold to some rich pervert. After that, Levi told me that I was free. Since I had...no where else to go, I've stayed by Levi's side. And...he's all I have now."

Eren didn't respond to my words, and I wasn't sure what to say next. It was so quiet that I could hear my own heart beat.

"Mikasa, I swear..." he murmured after a few moments. "From now on, I'll always protect you. I promise."

"Wait, Eren." I quickly interrupted. "I don't need any protection so you don't have to-"

"To be honest...I do owe you. You and Heichou saved my ass in that trial. And it's all my fault that you were-"

"What?" I interjected. "Were you the one holding the knife that stabbed my father? Or did you use the axe on my mother? How is that your fault in any way?" My voice remained steady and calm, though my emotions were churning beneath the surface.

"Mikasa-"

"Eren. Please. Stop blaming yourself."

His face changed in an instant, looking quite surprised. "You...think I'm doing this out of...guilt?"

Now it was my turn to be shocked. "I don't understand..."

"I mean obviously! I do feel guilty! But that's not entirely why..." He trailed off, seeming unsure of what to say for a moment, but words returned to him quickly.

"I promise, Mikasa. I failed you once before...but I...I promise...never again. I'll protect you!"

His entire expression was intense, burning with determination. His hand grasped mine and I flinched at the contact. His hand was so warm, his face was closer than I was comfortable with. At the same time, it dragged other unpleasant memories to mind, recollections from Wall Sina.

On impulse, I used my free hand to push his face away before prying his hand off my wrist. My hand forced his wrist far back behind him until it was between his shoulder blades.

"Mikasa?"

His voice brought me back to reality. I quickly let go of his wrist, letting him grab hold of it. My hand wrapped around the collar of his shirt as I leaned towards him, menacingly, not stopping until our noses were almost touching.

"Don't touch me again."

I released my grip on him, gently ushering him to my door. He seemed to take the order in my glare more seriously this time and walked himself out the door.

I didn't look at him as I shut the door behind him before lying back down in my bed. Trying to fight another memory from rising to the surface.

* * *

><p><em><strong>EREN'S P.O.V.<strong>_

"Mi...ka...sa?"

Her door shut softly as I turned to speak to her again. For a few moments, I stood there, baffled. What...had I done to her?

Someplace in the back of my mind warned me that I needed to leave. I hurried down to the basement to avoid getting caught; who knows what Levi Heichou would do if I broke a single rule. Especially after what he had done in the court.

It wasn't too long before I got back to my current sleeping quarters. Deciding to try and get some more rest, I sat on the edge of my bed before stretching out to stare at the ceiling. But sleep evaded my very awake mind.

I still couldn't believe that she was Mikasa. All these years I had been believing the worst had happened to her. Yet, here she was.

One of humanity's strongest soldiers, graduating in half the time than the rest of us. Of course she'd have to be strong to have even survived her parents being butchered in front of her.

'Her life must've went to hell that day.' I thought to myself. '

With that, I dozed off to sleep.

...

The next day brought upon more work from Levi Heichou, mainly more cleaning. It was long and boring, but at least the majority of the castle was clean to Heichou's tolerance now.

"We'll probably be ordered to stay on standby for the next several days." Erd said as we sat at the table that night. "But I hear they're thinking of launching a large-scale expedition past the wall in 30 days. And that they're rushing to put some recent graduates in the mix."

My eyes widened a bit. All my friends would soon be able to join me. That is, if there were any still wanting to. The battle of Trost probably changed a lot of minds in my training corps.

"Isn't it a bit too early? The raw recruits just went through a titan invasion." Gunter commented.

"I bet the brats were paralyzed with fright." Oluo added with a smug expression.

"Is it true, Heichou?" Petra asked to Levi Heichou.

"I'm not in charge of planning strategy." he replied, taking a sip of his tea before continuing. "That's HIS department... He's got a lot more to think about then us."

"That's true...the circumstances have changed so much." Erd replied. "On one hand, the Maria recovery route that we sacrificed was sealed off in an instant...but a completely new hope has sprung up in it's place."

I looked up to see everyone's faces. Levi Heichou's, Erd's, Oluo's, Gunther's...Mikasa's. All looking at me.

"It's still hard to believe..." Erd continued. "But what happens when you 'become' a titan?"

His question echoed in everyone's eyes, except for Heichou's and Mikasa's; they were emotionless as ever.

"My memories of it aren't very clear..." I began slowly. "but it's like I lose track of myself. However, I do know that the trigger is self-inflicted pain. I bite my hand like..."

I went silent as I looked at my thumb. Now that it was brought up...how had I known to do that?

"I'm sure all of you are aware, but..." Levi Heichou spoke. "You may not ask him anything past what's in the report...although I doubt SHE'LL keep her mouth shut."

He turned to look at me as he continued. "If she screws up while poking and prodding you, it may be the death of you, Eren."

I had no clue who in the hell he was speaking of. "Eh? SHE...?"

Not a minute later, the door at the end of the hall opened. My head turned to see Ms. Hanji standing in the door way.

"Hi there, Squad Levi! Is the castle comfortable?"

Levi merely said, "Her."

Hanji walked down to where we were all at, taking a seat in the chair across from me.

"Squad Leader Hanji." I greeted.

"I'm currently handling the examination of the two titans that were captured in town." She certainly didn't beat around the bush. "And I'd like you to assist me with my experiment tomorrow, Eren. I stopped by to get permission."

"Experiment...?" I pondered out loud. "What could I...?"

Her whole face seemed to light up. "Well, you see...it's just something with rage!"

She remained quiet for a few minutes, looking at me expectantly.

"Ummm..." I began. "The thing is, I can't give you permission. I don't really have authority over myself these days..."

"Levi?" she immediately said. "What's on Eren's agenda for tomorrow?"

Levi Heichou merely glared at her before answering. "Cleaning the yard."

"Great! Then it's settled!" Hanji exclaimed, grabbing my hand and violently shaking it. "Eren! I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ah...okay..." I responded. "But what do you mean by titan experiment?"

Oluo nudged me hard in my left arm. "Hey! Don't get her started!" He hissed at me.

"Ahhh...I knew it!" Hanji said. "I thought you looked curious."

Levi and the rest of the squad immediately stood up from their seats and headed for the door.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mikasa's P.O.V.<strong>_

"Are you sure that was wise?" I asked Levi as we walked out of the room. Hanji's experimentation usually had a way of...well...not turning out so well.

"What?" Levi replied as he finished his tea as he walked.

"Leaving him there with Hanji...you know how she is."

Levi looked back toward the door, as if pretending to show concern. "Hmmm...you have a point."

"So are you saying we need to go back?" I responded.

"I don't see why you're so worried, Mikasa. Hanji hasn't killed anyone in experimentation...yet."

I sighed in exasperation. "You have a lousy sense of humor."

"And you're very cranky. Better catch up on your beauty sleep."

"All the bleach you've inhaled must've caused damage to your common sense."

"Mikasa, if you want to go back and save him from Hanji's clutches, there's no use." Levi replied, paying no mind to my insults whatsoever. "Besides, your boyfriend seemed voluntary enough."

"He's not my boyfriend." Irritation immediately flared inside me and despite myself, I blushed at his words. "So get that out of your head right now."

Levi's head moved ever so slightly to look at me while I looked dead ahead. His face betrayed nothing, but I had known him long enough to where I could feel his smug taunting radiating off of him. I ignored it and allowed myself to calm down by focusing on getting to my room.

I didn't pay any attention when he turned off to go to his room. Instead I just continued until I reached my room. I got ready for bed and drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning, everyone was awakened to the sound of screams.

"BOTH TITANS HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

Being so early in the morning, I couldn't process what was going on. But when it finally clicked in my mind that Hanji's test subjects had been killed, I immediately got dressed and headed to where they had been.

The bodies of the titans were still releasing steam; they hadn't been dead long. I made my way past the other soldiers in the area until I finally arrived at the front. The first thing I saw was Squad Leader Hanji, screaming for the titans and pulling her hair.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:** I meant to add this at the beginning but I will here. Just the other day, someone told me that "no one wants to read my retarded story". In all truth, it hurt my feelings but what I'm getting at is that there were so many more polite ways to express that opinion._

_Now that that's off my chest, I hope that those of you who do like this story enjoyed this chapter._


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